Daddy's Little Hellraiser
by D.Minx
Summary: Sequel to P.o.P: After much difficulty Hades and Persephone manage to conceive a child.. but there's trouble lurking nearby as Hecate is planning an Underworld takeover... contains carrying-on themes and may get a little dark...
1. From those Humble Beginnings,,,

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up… This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it then you might get confused later on.._

_And finally, a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

_**

* * *

**_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

_Dedicated to all my loyal fans… you guys rule!_

**Chapter One:****From those Humble Beginnings,,,**

…_some point long, long ago…_

The dark, gloomy Underworld was serene and completely quiet on this peaceful night as the river Styx rushed around it's never-ending circuit of the subterranean realm, but the clear dull blue waters of the river of sacred oaths was not the only thing moving in this poorly lit dominion… a shadowy figure darted through the imposing landscape of sharp jagged rocks and small glimmers of phosphorous light, the figure paused to check that they weren't being followed and to check on the bundle that they were carrying before continuing..

Presently, the cloaked figure arrived at their desired destination, it was a large and daunting home built into the black cavernous recess of the Underworld wall. The figure pulled off the hood of their cloak revealing a lush head of brilliant red hair and pearly white skin. The young goddess gazed unsurely up towards the tall grim house with it's cold dark windows, she felt a tear roll down her cheek as she clutched the bundle in her arms tighter to her chest. The young goddess' cornflower blue eyes then turned down sadly as the bundle in her arms squirmed against her chest. She pulled the bundle away from her revealing a tiny pale-blue skinned baby godling who gurgled moodily before drifting off to sleep once more. The young goddess gazed at her youngest son with mournful eyes, she didn't want to be separated from her baby boy but she knew this was for the best… after all, if all her sons stayed together Cronos would destroy them the second he finally tracked them down, it was safer to separate them and save them from their father's wrath.. Zeus and the girls were now safe with Gaia and the Ash-Nymphs while Poseidon was living not to far away with Oceanus and his wife Thetys and their daughters the Oceanids.. but this left her last born son… not only was he just a tiny baby but he was going to be completely cut off from his siblings, he would have no idea of who he really was until her eldest son Zeus inevitably came looking for him…

…until then, her little Aidenous would be safe down here with Nyx and Erebus, the two Underworld deities had agreed to adopt him and raise him as one of their own. It was the perfect cover as they both had so many children and Aidenous bore such a striking resemblance to the God of Darkness that, with a name switch, Cronos would never suspect this was actually one of his own children..

Rhea was staling and she knew it. She had found it hard leaving her other two sons but at least the young mother could take solace in the fact that they were both old enough to understand the situation but Aidenous… he was barely a month old. He would have no memory of this night, he would grow up not knowing anything… his journey was going to be the hardest of all.

The young mother however was determined to do what was right then gently, so as not to wake him, she shifted her hold on her tiny son so she was cradling him in one arm. A tiny smile curled on his full blue lips before a hand appeared out the blanket and the baby jammed his thumb in his mouth. Satisfied that her son was comfortable Rhea rang the doorbell and waited, feeling slightly exposed she glanced nervously around the shadows of the Underworld before sounds of movement came from the other side of the large stone door. Slowly the door opened with a rough grinding sound which didn't seem to affect the sleeping baby who merely nuzzled himself closer to his mother.

Two figures appeared on the other side as the door ground to a halt. The taller of the two was a black shadowy god with a long angular face, long pointed nose and large round grey orbs for eyes. He had a tuft of wispy grey smoke instead of hair and his body was a large mass of dark shadow in which only his arms were identifiable. His full grey lips were twisted into a crooked leer revealing large grey fangs…

Next to him stood his kindly-smiling wife. Nyx was much shorter than her husband, she came up to just under his shoulder at best, her pale bluish-lilac face was framed by long hair of the darkest blue. She was wearing a loose fitting navy chiton which went down to her feet.

'Now are you sure about this..' Nyx sounded gently, seeing the hesitation in her niece's cornflower blue eyes.

'Yes…' Rhea sounded firmly then held out her last born son to Nyx who took him, cradling the tiny infant close to her. Aidenous stirred, turning his head the baby opened his large yellow orbs to see who now held him in their arms. He gazed sleepily at the pale woman then his large eyes fixed onto the shadowy man who leered playfully at the baby, raising a large black shadowy tendril Erebus wiggled it over the baby's head. A smirk twisted on the godling's full blue lips as he reached up a pale blue arm trying to seize the shadow taunting him but his little fist couldn't grab it.

'I must go, Cronos will be looking for me..' Rhea said after a moment of watching her son, who wasn't even interested in his mother. The white-skinned goddess swept forward and kissed her son on the forehead. '-goodbye little one..' She sounded tearfully before vanishing in a swirl of light, returning to her dictatorial husband and Ruler of the Cosmos… it was were she had to be..

The tiny godling she had left behind squeaked in shock as mommy vanished on the spot leaving him behind with these strange people. Once the small infant digested the shock he began whimpering in a mixture of fear and distress.

'Uh-oh…' Erebus sounded his voice was deep and chilly but not unkind, his large round grey orbs widening at the telltale signs of one unhappy baby.

Then suddenly at the exact moment the baby began crying his skin changed to a violent orange colour as his entire body erupted into flames. Nyx was so stunned by the outburst that she accidentally let go of the baby, not that the child noticed as he was still burning and screaming his head off as he fell. Erebus reacted instinctively, wrapping many shadowy tendrils around the baby, catching him and then jiggling to quieten the young godling once more. After a few more minutes the baby's fiery tantrum subsided and the tiny godling returned to blue, his flames receded until they were nothing more than a tiny tuft at the top of his head.

Nyx's heart was racing, as she gazed at the baby in her husband's arms.

'I'm sorry honey..' She sounded apologetically. '-he just startled me..'

'It's alright my love..' Erebus replied soothingly then studying the baby who was watching him curiously through it's large golden orbs the shadowy god smirked. 'We'll just have to keep an eye on this one, he's going to be a handful..' Erebus turned a fond eye onto his new son who smiled widely at him. 'Y'know…' The shadowy god sounded stepping back inside their gloomy home as his lovely wife shut the front door. '-we still need to think of a name for him..'

'I know..' Nyx sounded shaking her head in faint amusement. '-but maybe we should hold off the baby names until we can find a name that suits his personality..' The two deities wandered down the dark hallway...

The gloomy living room had been very peaceful that evening, their son Hypnos was out on the surface doing his job and their three daughters were up in their room cackling and doing only they knew what to the Tapestry of Fate that their grandmother Chaos had left them before retreating deep into the void..

The tiny godling seemed to have forgotten all about his mother as he was now engrossed in his Underworld home with his new parents..

'Erebus..' Nyx sounded softly from her seat causing her husband who had been dozing in his own seat to jerk awake and gaze over at his wife. In her lap sat the baby godling who was babbling happily. 'Watch this..' The Goddess of Night sounded before turning back to the little one in her lap.

'You ready..' She cooed in a soft baby voice causing the baby to gurgle excitedly. Nyx then covered her eyes with her slender lilac-blue fingers so she couldn't see him anymore. Then to Erebus' amazement the baby vanished from sight except for a small indent in Nyx's lap which told the shadowy god the baby was actually invisible and had not left the room. The next second Nyx pulled back her hands.

'Peek-a-boo..' She declared smiling widely as the tiny godling reappeared laughing which caused his blue tuft of flame to grow an inch and ripple animatedly. A smile curled Erebus' lips as his wife laughed amused, it seemed the baby's little invisibility trick had just given the shadowy god the answer they had been looking for...

'Perhaps we should call him Hades…'

* * *

…_present day…_

'Hades…' Nothing.

'Hades…' She sounded again, this time jabbing him in the back. Still nothing.

Persephone sighed, then tried again to wake her sleeping husband.

'_Hades_..' She sounded a little more insistently and finally the fiery god grunted into life. He lifted his head off of his desk where he had crashed out after another late night of mindless paperwork.

'What the-?' He sounded groggily as a scroll rose with him. 'Ewww..' Hades' sounded and his lip curled into disgust as he pulled the wet drool-covered sheet away from his face where it had gotten stuck. He dumped it on his desk then wiped his fingers on the front of his black chiton then Hades smiled wearily turning his large yellow eyes onto his wife… the most beautiful thing in the cosmos… and noticed she had brought him a large cup of coffee… the second most beautiful thing in the cosmos…

'I thought you were going to ease up on the late night paperwork?' Persephone asked concerned as she passed her husband the steaming hot cup in her hands.

Hades took a large swig of the coffee and sighed heavily.

It was spring again, the time of year when Persephone flitted back and forth between her surface duties and her Underworld duties. While his wife was away for a day or two Hades used the time to do the Underworld Audit, the work might be dull but it beat sitting around and moping…

'Uh, I am but I gotta get some of this out of the way before we go up there..' Hades pointed upwards before taking another drink. Persephone sighed heavily, knowing how her husband felt.

Aphrodite had just had a baby.

The two Underworld deities had found out from Hermes only a few days ago. Apparently the little girl was called Eris but there seemed to be a question mark hanging over the identity of her father… after finding out about the affair with Ares three years ago, Hephaestus and Aphrodite had separated for a while so they both could think about what it was they truly wanted. It in this gap that Aphrodite conceived her daughter… the father was either Hephaestus or Ares, nobody really knew who it was. Hephaestus decided that he didn't care who the father was he just wanted Aphrodite back in his life so the married couple decided to give their marriage another try. The Olympians were happy with this and the doubts of the baby's parentage were forgotten, at least until the baby was born.. Apparently the baby bore some resemblance to the God of War…

Of course this meant that there was going to be another Birth Celebration party and both Hades and Persephone were expected to attend. Although neither of the Underworld deities were keen on the idea of yet another 'new brat' on Olympus they were both glad for an excuse to drop work and spend some time together doing what they liked to do best, poke fun at the guys on Olympus..

'Work, work, work..' Persephone pouted playfully moving closer to her husband and causing the study door to close with a flick of her wrist. '-all work and no play will make Hades a dull boy..' She sounded teasingly while sliding her hand teasingly down his chest.

'Heh, knock it off ya silly nympho..' Hades snickered slapping her hand away. '-I gotta get these figures in order..'

'Oh come on Hades..' Persephone purred wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling into his neck. '-it's spring and you know what that does to me..'

'Yeh, I do…' Hades sighed, his flames rippling with pleasure at his wife's caresses. Oh he knew only too well what spring did for Persephone… being the Goddess of Life she was influenced heavily by the change in seasons. During the summer Persephone was light-hearted and loved to frolic, autumn brought out her more serious side as maturity seemed to grow, then in winter she felt sleepy and was really sluggish, but spring… it was when her libido was sky-high, she was all over Hades and constantly in the mood. For one thing this proved Homer's theory of Persephone spending the spring and summer months away to be an absolute load of crock… she couldn't last six hours, never mind six months…

Hades glanced down at the invoices he had been working on, he really should finish what he started… but Persephone was such a distraction as her fingers worked their way down his body, touching and teasing in a way that was already causing reactions the fiery god couldn't control… dam, he was such a yutz. B_ut still... _His mind reasoned causing a perverse leer to cross his full blue lips... _if you can't beat her_…

It took the fiery god less than a second to decide what to do, and with one swoop of his arm the half-drunk coffee and some of the papers that had been on his desk were swept off and sent crashing to the floor. The next second he'd hauled his wife into his lap and was kissing her hungrily and groping her eagerly.

Eventually when Persephone was writhing with breathless excitement Hades propped her hips against his desk then lay her down causing what was left on his desk to fall to the floor in a shower of scrolls and ink…

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, I just couldn't wait to get started on the sequel, I'm just so excited about it! I loved writing every minute of P.o.P and I'm even more pleased about this one…_

_I hope everyone likes the whole flashback scene of Rhea bringing Hades to the Underworld, I've been dying to write that piece for months… my idea for Nyx is loosely based on the idea Disney give you in Fantasia while my idea for Erebus was inspired by Hexxus from Ferngully: The Last Rainforest, he was so awesome!_

_There's a little heads up to the Hymn of Demeter which (of course) was written by Homer who appears in a few episodes of the series… more on this will be coming later…_

_Take care for now…_

_Lot's of love… Ditzy xXx_


	2. I am Hades,,, Hear me Roar,,

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up… This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it then you might get confused later on.._

_And finally, a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

* * *

_**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**_

_Dedicated to lilliesandroses (the first person to review)… Lostdawn17 (the first to add to Favourites)… and animedancin13 (the first to add to Alerts)… thank you xXx_

_**Chapter Two:**__**I am Hades,,, Hear me Roar..**_

Hades sighed heavily as he entered the Great Coliseum on Olympus, this was going to be another snore-fest and he knew it. Birth Celebrations always were.. He'd go in, pretended to gush over the newest brat who would probably end up as spoilt and petty as their parents, then he'd get out of there before all that schmaltzy crap started to make him feel like a total loser.. But this time was going to be different, after all there was one _crucial_ difference.. his little Sephykins…

The fiery Lord of the Underworld turned to his white-skinned wife who was stood beside him and flashed her a wide twisted smirk, placing a hand on the small of her back. Both Underworld deities shared a brief look that clearly said 'ready when you are' before they headed towards the raised stage where Aphrodite and a golden crib were seated.

The crowd of multi-coloured gods parted as Persephone lead the way. The two of them picked their way through the crowd. Few gods greeted them as they passed through, Hestia waved cheerfully from the buffet table before returning to her ambrosia soufflé, trying to protect it from the rowdy gods nearby. Bacchus raised a goblet of wine in their direction with a large smirk on his already rosy face, clearly he had hit the booze early, then Persephone's brother returned to his friends Apollo and Cupid who were sniggering.

Hades nodded politely at the greetings while Persephone beamed widely and waved back before they carried on.

'Oh there you two are…' Demeter's voice suddenly trilled causing both Underworld deities to stop in their tracks as the Goddess of Nature appeared in front of them. '-your awfully late, trouble in the Underworld?' She beamed widely at them.

'No..' Hades drawled cheerfully. '-we just got a little _side-tracked_..' He flashed his wife a meaningful smirk which caused her to giggle then shush him.

'Have you seen Aphrodite's baby yet?' Demeter asked instantly.

'We were just heading there now..' Persephone started before her mother cut her off.

'Oh, she's such a little angel. I can't wait until I get a grandchild..'

'Mo-ther..' Persephone rolled her eyes as a slight blush of embarrassment swept her cheeks. 'We've discussed this and Hades and I agree that we just don't have time for kids..'

'Heh, it sucks but whadda ya gonna do huh?' Hades added flashing Demeter a wide smirk.

'Nonsense..' Demeter snorted waving her hand dismissively. '-other gods have managed to have babies and still do their jobs..'

'Yeh, but other gods haven't been slapped with the Life and Death gigs have they?' Hades raised his brows and Demeter frowned.

'Oh your just making excuses now..' The green-skinned goddess sounded turning her eyes upwards.

'Well it's better than making up blasphemous lies and trying to pass them off as truth!' Hades flared a brief orange shade glaring irritably at Demeter. Persephone slapped her head in disbelief, not the Homer-thing again…

'Oh, not this _again_..' Demeter sighed heavily placing her hands of her hips before addressing her daughter's husband with the air of someone explaining things to a two year old. 'For the _last_ time Hades, it's just a story..' The Goddess of Nature just couldn't see how Homer's latest Hymn was getting him so upset.

'Uh-huh sure it is.. well if that's the case I just have one itty-bitty tiny question..' Hades smiled widely leaning into his mother-in-law before flaming an enraged shade of red.. '-_Why does every-yutz in Greece think I kidnapped my wife?_'

'Now look..' The Goddess of Nature sounded firmly ignoring the flames. '-there is no reason to get upset.. the truth can be found at my temple in Eleusis for those who seek it..'

'_Great…_' Hades sneered sarcastically then his voice and flames rose progressively louder as the fiery god was working himself into a rage. '-meanwhile, there's some _no_-_nothing_-_schmeil_ who's just _waltzing_ _around _telling everybody that I'm a _kidnapping rapist!_'

Suddenly the cloud went silent and all eyes turned in their direction.

'_Hades_!' Persephone hissed crossly before glancing mortified around the coliseum. 'Quit kvetching, everybody's looking at us..'

Both Demeter and Hades suddenly became aware that the three of them were being watched, the already vexed Lord of the Underworld returned to blue but bristled at the deities staring at them.

'Well why don'tcha paint it on a vase, it'll last longer!' He sounded tetchily and the gods around them blinked before turning back to their conversations. Hades then turned to his wife. 'C'mon babe, let's just greet the brat and get out of here..' He muttered nudging his wife towards the main stage where Zeus was grinning widely at him.

'Persephone!' The golden tanned god beamed widely at the Queen of the Underworld as she appeared in front of him. 'So nice of you to come up and see Aphrodite's little bundle of joy..'

'Yeh well… when the big yutz calls you just gotta accept the charges..' Persephone responded dryly causing Zeus to frown as the Goddess of Life passed him and moved towards the crib… she was starting to sound more and more like her husband every year.. Deciding that it wasn't worth dwelling on Zeus then swivelled around to the Lord of the Underworld who was coming up behind his wife.

'Hades! Glad you could make it..' He sounded cheerfully before adding in an Australian twang to his subterranean brother.'-how are things down under mate?'

'Oy..' Hades rolled his eyes and uttered to himself. '-the Aussie-shtick again…' The fiery god then flashed his brother a wide fake smirk. 'Everything is juust.. _peachy_..' He drawled through gritted teeth.

'Wonderful!' Zeus sounded cracking his little brother on the shoulder causing him to wince painfully... that was definitely going to leave a bruise.

* * *

Meanwhile Persephone was gazing into Eris' golden crib. The Goddess of Life clasped her hands together as she threw a sentimental look at the tiny daughter of Aphrodite. Apart from the fact that Eris had red-skin and a glowing red aura, she looked exactly like Aphrodite, she even had her big blue eyes and a curl of bright blonde hair. The tiny godling smiled widely at the white-skinned goddess in front of her, batting her big blue eyes innocently.

'Oh… she looks like a little cherub..' Persephone cooed at the tiny baby.

'Uh, I know..' Aphrodite gushed. '-she's so cute, except when she cries… then she just won't shut up. I mean, it's like she knows it just gets on your nerves or something..'

'Your so lucky..' Persephone sounded wistfully, she couldn't help feeling broody as she gazed down at little Eris who was now gumming the corner of her baby blanket. She'd couldn't admit it to Hades but she'd recently been wondering what a child of theirs might be like. They'd spoken very briefly on the subject of kids before but had agreed that their lives were hectic enough without the added pressure of raising a child in the Underworld. But still, it didn't stop Persephone from wondering what kind of child they'd have…

The next second Hades appeared having managed to elude Zeus before he was able to break any bones. He rubbed the spot where the tanned god had whacked him before aproaching the crib..

'Ahh..' The fiery god sounded as his rounded yellow orbs caught sight of little Eris. '-here's the little shnoochie, the newest little sunspot to join this god-infested cloud..' Hades sounded raising his brows at the tiny godling who had stopped gumming her blanket and was now staring up at him in awe. In only her few weeks of life she had never met such a strange looking god.. suddenly her tiny maroon-coloured lips curved into a smile..

'Aww… that's _so_ cute..' Persephone sounded tenderly. '-I think she likes you..'

'Oh gods I hope not..' Aphrodite sounded slapping her head in disbelief, trust it to be one of her kids that took a shine to Hades.. Persephone was now standing by her husband smirking at his look of disbelief.

'Did you remember the gift?' She asked her husband innocently and Hades blinked in shock.

'Gift?' He sounded confused before his brain finally snapped into gear. 'Oh… right… I um… put it somewhere…' The fiery god began rummaging his chiton.

'You forgot it didn't you?' The Goddess of Life smirked amused then Hades flashed his wife a guilty leer. 'Oh well…' Persephone sighed dramatically laying her palm out flat as a swirl of orbs circled. '-just as well I remembered to pick it up then..' She smiled as a single golden apple appeared in her hand.

'Hey..' Aphrodite sounded recognising the Apple of Discord. '-isn't that the same apple that started the whole mess with the Trojans..'

'Yup..' Hades smirked amused as he took the apple off of his wife. '-swiped it while you girls weren't lookin', was gonna use it but never got the chance so I figured your brat could have some fun with it..' He then dropped the apple into the crib beside the tiny red-skinned goddess who instantly took a hold of it beaming and then began to gum the stalk.

Aphrodite didn't approve of the gift idea but sighed as her daughter gripped the apple in her hands babbling happily.. there was no way she would be able to get the apple off Eris now, that baby was annoyingly possesive when it came to her toys..

'Gee… thanks..' Aphrodite sounded dryly, the Fates only knew what trouble her baby was going to cause with that apple now..

At this point Zeus appeared chuckling.

'Well, isn't it nice to have all the gods under one roof...' He sounded leaning on Hades who inwardly cursed, it was like supporting a mountain, why couldn't the big stupid yutz go pick on Po-Po for a change…

'Isn't she just darling..' Hera appeared beside Persephone with a soppy look at her new grandchild. '-reminds me of when Hercules was this age..' She then lent forward and kissed the tiny godling on the forehead and pulled back smiling as Eris clutched her apple tighter with a slight glare, almost daring Hera to try and take it away..

A slight uncomfortable feeling washed over the Underworld couple but none of the others noticed.

'So… have you two thought about kids?' Hera turned her attention to Persephone. The white-skinned goddess shrugged unsurely.

'Yes..' Zeus sounded jiggling Hades who was still trapped in his grip. '-it's about time you two started thinking about raising a family..'

_Oh_ _Tartarus_… Hades eyes widened in horror. He was not having this conversation… especially not with _Zeus_..

'Well gee Zeus..' The fiery god suddenly managed to pull himself out of his tanned brother's grip. '-we'd love to but we can't..' Zeus blinked then Persephone suddenly piped up.

'What he means is that while you guys get to lounge around doing jack-squat, _we _have full-time jobs which means we wouldn't have time for a baby..'

'Oh come on now, you can't just work for eternity you'll grind yourselves into the ground..' Zeus paused then began to laugh amused. 'Get it? Grind yourselves into the ground!'

Suddenly the coliseum was laughing at another lame joke at the Underworld deities expense.

'Oh my days I'm so funny!' Zeus choked to himself as he fell back on his throne which appeared out of the clouds. Both Hades and Persephone bristled with offence then the Goddess of Life grabbed her husband's hand tightly and dragged him away from the conceited Lord of Olympus before Hades did something he wouldn't regret..

'Oh yeh… so funny, so funny I forgot to laugh..' Hades muttered irritably allowing his wife to lead him away.

'Don't let him get to you sweetie..' Persephone sounded her voice was laced with annoyance. '-he's just not worth it..'

* * *

As Hades and Persephone approached the exit Hecate appeared in front of them, she had just arrived to have a peek at the new baby herself.

'Oh great..' The fiery god sounded. 'I see they just let any schmo into these things now..' Hecate merely smiled ignoring Hades' words.

'Hades, Persephone.. how nice to see you..' She trilled flashing them a wide smirk which neither ruler of the Underworld was taking as a genuine smile. They were both still irritated by the fact that she had deliberately spread the kidnap story and still managed to get a glowing review by Homer in his Hymn to Demeter..

'Oh..' Hecate sounded with a pout, second guessing the meaning behind their sour expressions. '-your not still miffed about that little hymn by Homer are you? After all, it's just a story..' Her smirk widened as Hades flared irritably at the mention of Homer's name… clearly he was still upset..

'Oh pay no attention to her Hades..' Persephone sniffed in disapproval as she gripped her husband's wrist before he could summon a fireball. '-she's just a witch..' The goddess then barged passed Hecate pulling her husband with her. Hades merely smirked at Hecate amused by his wife's comment..

Hecate fumed at the white-skinned goddess' words and turned to glare at her… so she was 'just a witch' was she? Well… perhaps it was time to show _her_ just what this _witch_ could do…

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, I was watching Hercules when I wrote this so it came pretty quickly to me… the chapter title was just a silly joke at how Hades' opinion never seems to be taken on by anybody other than his wife… it kind of fits for this chapter…_

_Ok, I want to explain a little about Homer's Hymn to Demeter… this hymn was written with Demeter in mind so all the details in it were to please Demeter and not necessarily something either Hades nor Persephone would have approved of… Actual Fact: Persephone was the only goddess __not__ to be written a hymn by Homer. There is a story concerning this where Persephone was offended by this, so much so that Hades refused to grant him access to the Underworld until he had written his wife a hymn, apparently it was the most beautiful hymn Homer had ever written… so beautiful that the goddess kept it on her, which is why we will never know what it says.. Personally, I thought it was fitting to have Hades offended by what it says rather than Persephone.. and the fact that he thinks he's being labelled as a 'kidnapping rapist' just shows he hasn't actually read the hymn as Homer never claims he is one.._

_Those who also read Jafar's Disastrous Dates will now understand why I chose not to put Jafar on a date with Sinbad's Eris. Since I'm claiming she's a baby in this story it would just confuse me._

_Eris has many parents in mythology but I like the idea of her being Aphrodite and Ares' baby (that's right, he's her daddy) as it puts emphasis on the saying: there's a fine line between love and hate…_

_Anyway, please keep the reviews coming… it's always nice to hear what fans think…_

_Take care…_

_Lot's of love… Ditzy xXx_


	3. The Troubles of a Teenage Queen

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up… This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And finally, a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

* * *

_**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**_

_**Chapter Three:**__**The Troubles of a Teenage Queen**_

A few days had passed since Hecate had been up to see Aphrodite's little brat, and judging from her skin colour and attitude problem it was blatantly obvious that Ares was Eris' father and not Hephaestus... still, if that pink-skinned bimbo of a goddess wanted to pretend otherwise that was her problem, this witch had bigger issues to mull over…

Hecate paced irritably for the umpteenth time, still irritated by Persephone's snide comment to her husband.

'How dare she say I'm just a witch!' Hecate swivelled angrily knocking a potion off of the table next to her causing a dull purple cloud to waft up and dissipate. 'Doesn't that spoilt brat of Demeter's have any idea who I am… I am Hecate, Queen of the Night!' She seethed before rounding on the pool of water that sat in the corner of the room. She waved her staff over it and instantly an image of Persephone swam into view. Hecate felt a rush of hatred wash over her as she glared at the beautiful white-skinned goddess.

'Perfect Persephone..' She spat irritably and slapped the surface causing the image to vanish in a wave of ripples. '-she thinks she's _soo_ big now that she's the Queen of the Underworld but I'll show her..' The pale lilac-skinned witch pouted and slumped into her deep-set throne which was covered in a silvery wolf skin. She then furrowed her brow deeply trying to think about how she could wipe the smile off of Persephone's face..

Suddenly she smirked widely as a light went off on her head… well, nothing said revenge like a hostile takeover and it had been at least two years since she had tried to claim the Underworld throne. Still, things had been hard enough when the throne was only occupying Hades, that wily old god was too smart for his own good… and now that he was married things would be a little tougher. Hecate rolled her silvery eyes upwards thoughtfully… there must be something she could use against them..

Hecate sighed heavily as no ideas could come to her… what she really needed was information. Suddenly the witch leered craftily… and she knew just how to get it..

'Havoc! Mayhem!' She stood up and screeched at the top of her lungs. The next second two large grey winged-wolves flew through the large rounded window of her subterranean grotto.

'You called Hecate?' The wolf on the left spoke in a cool and well-mannered tone.

'Yes…' Hecate drawled with a sly smile twisting cross her thin violet lips. '-I've got a job for you two, I want you to go and gather what information you can on Hades and his-' She placed her hands together with a look of revulsion.. '-sweet little 'Sephykins'.'

'Oh right away your most wickedness..' The wolf on the right sounded in the exact same voice as his twin brother. '-is there anything in particular you are looking for?'

'Anything Mayhem, anything I can use against that brat of Demeter's..' Hecate tailed off glaring at nothing in particular.

'Mistress..' The wolf on the right interrupted Hecate's moment of silent vexation towards the Queen of the Underworld.

'What is it?' Hecate snapped out of it and turned her silver eyes onto the wolves in front of her.

'He's Mayhem..' The wolf on the right sounded. '-I'm Havoc.'

Hecate slapped her head and groaned with irritation. How many centuries had she owned these minions? And she still couldn't tell them apart.

'I'll get it right on of these days boys..' Hecate sounded and the wolves nodded.

'We know you will..' Mayhem sounded before the two wolves spread there wings and flew back out of the window of her grotto, leaving Hecate with her thoughts…

* * *

'Yo Seph…' A large hand appeared in front of Persephone's far-away expression and began to click it's large bluish-grey fingers impatiently, trying to draw the young goddess out of her daydream. '-ya in there my sweet?'

'Huh?' The Goddess of Life blinked rousing herself from yet another fantasy about having children. She'd been having a lot of those recently and they'd only got worse since she'd seen Aphrodite's little girl… she definitely had babies on the brain. At first Persephone dismissed them thinking that she was only broody because of her trip to see Eris, but when the daydreams were starting to come with the silent ache of longing the Queen of the Underworld was starting to rethink their decision regarding kids in the Underworld.

'Meetings ready to start when you are babe..' Hades sounded amused smirking at his wife's bewildered face.

'Oh..' The goddess flushed as she glanced around the long table seeing the imps looking at her expectantly. '-right… sorry..' Persephone smiled weakly and Hades straightened satisfied that now his wife was now back with them he could get this ball rolling..

'Ok boys..' He turned to the imps with a wide smirk. '-what's on the agenda for today..'

'Well..' Pain started rifling his papers. '-Cerberus chewed threw Charon's oar last night so he's gonna need a new one..'

'Aye-yi-yi… again? That's the third time this week!' Hades then sighed heavily, Cerberus may be almost full grown but that didn't stop him from being a nuisance. The fiery god still felt he should have gone with the three-headed piranha rather than listen to the imps. 'Ok, I'll get him a new one.' The Lord of the Underworld sounded roughly as though he were a put-upon martyr.

'The torture committee in Tartarus wants permission to bring back studded whips, apparently the souls are getting too lippy..' Panic added at this point.

'Fine, fine, fine… whatever makes the afterlife easier..' Hades waved his hand dismissively as though wishing to move on quickly.

'You've also got several new souls that arrived last night plus the ones that are due to arrive this morning and the paperwork is starting to mount…'

'Oh geez…' Hades groaned heavily slumping his flaming head on the table, this was going to occupy most of his day and that didn't include the Underworld Audit which was only half-done. '-so…' The fiery god suddenly sat up switching to a cheery smirk and turning to his wife. '-ya free for lunch?' Persephone's eyes widened doubtfully before she checked her work schedule.

'Oh, sorry sweetie I gotta full schedule.' The Goddess of Life sounded apologetically causing her husband roll his eyes in a 'typical' manner..'- first I've got that meeting with Zeus to discuss some ideas for the Elysian Fields..' Persephone sighed irritably before continuing, '-and then I'm carrying out minion interviews for most of the afternoon-' The white-skinned goddess then paused as a beeping sound issued from her bust, the next second she whipped out her purple pager and scanned the message. She then sighed before adding, '-and now mother's having a crisis..' Persephone shook her head ruefully. 'I gotta go…' The goddess then lent forward and pecked his lips before vanishing out in a swirl of orbs.

'What a sec…' Pain sounded. 'Did she say she was carrying out minion interviews?'

'Yup..' Hades smirked as he flicking through some of the New Arrivals forms in front of him them and adding his signature where necessary.

'But… but…' Panic stuttered before his eyes bulged with shock and he burst out, '-we're minions!'

'Yeh… but you're _my _minions..' Hades stated glancing up from the scrolls. '-Seph wants her own minions, which hey… is fair enough ok, she's been Queen of the Underworld for three years. I mean c'mon, she deserves her own set of useless morons..'

'Aww..' Pain folded his arms sulking pettily. '-I _hate_ new minions..'

'Me too..' Panic snorted looking mutinous now. '-it means we'll have to be _nice_ to them..'

'Hey..' Hades snapped. '-what is it Seph says to mortals who start whining?'

'Life's not fair get used to it..' Both imps droned flatly.

'_Bingo_!' Hades grinned widely. 'So what are you both going to _do!_' Hades flared briefly as his voice snarled the last word.

'Shut up and just deal with it your viciousness?' Pain suggested in an anxious tone.

Hades raised one brow slightly impressed.

'Damn straight..' He uttered before immersing himself in the pile of paperwork in front of him.

* * *

A large orange flower poked it's head through the cloudy floor of Olympus, for a brief second it stood there quite peacefully before it's petals peeled back and Persephone burst out of it sneezing. She had always hated her mother's favourite mode of transport, it was so stuffy, claustrophobic and the pollen made her sinuses act up. The young goddess glared down at her mud splattered chiton and made a dry growl of irritation in the back of her throat. _Great, just great…_ Thanks to her mother's stupid 'crisis', which turned out to be two farmers who smelled like they hadn't had a bath in a month arguing over ownership of a muddy field, she was now covered in mud and running late for her appointment with Zeus..

As the young goddess was wiping the dirt off her chiton Hermes shot over to her grinning widely.

'Oh-hoh.. had enough of the Underworld already huh?' He said cheerfully nudging her.

'Oh, ha, ha..' Persephone sounded with mock-sarcasm then waving him off with a smile. '-very funny, I just came straight from my mother's..'

'Ooh..' Hermes snickered raising an eyebrow. '-trouble on Sicily?' This time Persephone giggled amused nudging him back.

'Not really..' She sounded. '-just some farmers having a stupid tiff.' The goddess rolled her eyes, not wanting to get into the details of it. 'So, how's your mom doing these days?' Persephone sounded brightly changing the subject.

'Uh..' Hermes groaned straightening his red-tinted specs. '-you know my mom Seph, she just wants me to slow down and find a nice wood-sprite to settle down with..' Persephone giggled, Mia was never going to change.

'I can't believe she won't tell you who your dad is..' Persephone smirked remembering how Mia always blushed whenever the subject came up and uttering something about 'a stupid mistake'.. but Hermes merely shrugged.

'Meh, I don't care who he is Seph..' The Messenger God spoke as if it were a trivial matter. '-if he want's nothin' to do with me then I don't want nothin' to do with him, besides he's probably some big-headed, second-rate god with a small-'

'Hermes..' Zeus boomed suddenly appearing in front of the chatting deities. '-you should have told me my eleven o'clock was here..'

'Uh yeh, sorry about that chief, got a little diverted, if that ain't too nutty..' The tiny blue god flushed before adding, '-oh, would ya look at the time..' he gesturing to his sundial. '-gotta fly cats..' He then vanished in a blue blur out of their sight. Zeus merely chuckled amused.

'Heh, that god sure likes to keep himself busy doesn't he..' He then beamed widely at the Goddess of Life with teeth so white they should come with prescription sunglasses. 'Well now Persephone, let's go into the throne room shall we?' He then clasped her tightly by the shoulders and steered her towards the room before the young Queen of the Underworld could respond.

* * *

'I don't see why the Elysian Fields has to be for heroes only..' Persephone sounded pacing in front of his large throne and turning back around to Zeus who was watching her with a concerned expression.

'But that's the way it has always been, the restful refuge of the heroes, why should it be changed?' The Goddess of Life rolled her eyes at Zeus' words.._ honestly was this god ever going to drag himself into the new millennium…_

'But there are other souls just as deserving as the heroes..' Persephone sounded passionately. '-why should they miss out because of your stupid rule..'

Zeus raised his brow at her 'stupid rule' comment but he clicked his tongue sympathetically at the rest of her heartfelt argument.

'Now Persephone-' Zeus sighed. '-I understand your concern for the souls in your charge but I can't just let every deserving soul into the Elysian Fields, it would get overcrowded..' The goddess however merely beamed at these words.

'I know, but I have thought of a solution to that..' Persephone responded instantly pacing and turning to face Zeus' throne once more. The tanned Lord of Olympus blinked stunned by this.

'You have?' He asked looking at her with interest keen to hear her theory.

'Well, I could offer to reincarnate some of the heroes and give them another chance of life, I don't see why they wouldn't refuse… heroes are always seeking a new challenge and lounging around in paradise is bound to get a little boring after a while..'

'Yes…' Zeus frowned musingly, he could definitely agree with that. '-but how would you go about reincarnating those in the Elysian Fields?' He asked her and to his amazement the goddess pulled out the blue scrolls of the Underworld which her husband had looked out for her the night before. Persephone then handed one side to Zeus and stood beside him holding the other.

'The river of Lethe..' The goddess pointed at the Fall of Forgetfulness at the rear of the House of Hades. '-travels right passed the Elysian Fields..' Her slim white finger followed the river's path. '-I already reincarnate the souls that are stupid enough to fall into the Pool of Lethe, they're the only ones Hades will let me get rid off, otherwise they get on his nerves with their constant questions..' Persephone smirked slightly at her husband's reluctance to let her reincarnate more but at least now the Pool of Lethe was free from those irritating brain-dead souls. The blue scroll of the Underworld then vanished in a swirl of orbs and Persephone waited anxiously for Zeus' verdict..

Zeus sat thoughtfully for a long moment studying Persephone's apprehensive expression, he then sighed heavily realising she had a valid point…

'Y'know..' He sounded stroking his beard. '-perhaps it _is_ time for a change of management down there..' Persephone smiled widely at him, stunned but pleased that he was going to let her implement the changes. 'In fact what do you say we make it official..' The tanned Lord of Olympus beamed at her.

'Uh, ok..' Persephone responded now suspecting that she was missing something.

'Hermes!' Zeus bellowed and suddenly Hermes shot into the room, skidding in front of the tanned god of Olympus.

'You called big guy?' He sounded smiling.

'Bring me the Deeds to the Elysian Fields and an Exchange of Domain form.

'Right away boss..' Hermes beamed widely before vanishing.

'Wait?' Persephone blinked still a little confused. '-your giving me the Elysian Fields?' The next second Hermes reappeared with the necessary forms beaming.

'Of course..' Zeus sounded airily. '-your arguments today prove to me that you care about the souls in your domain..' He filled out the Exchange of Domain form's necessary details before signing it at the bottom. '-which is more than I can say for your husband Hades..' He paused before handing Hermes the quill adding to him, '-you better sign as a witness to this..'

Persephone folded her arms and glared briefly offended by what Zeus said about her husband before the scroll was in front of her. Zeus carried on as though he hadn't seen her change in expression.

'-I need to know that this realm is going to remain a paradise if it is going to be under Hades' rule.. I'm sure I can count on you to keep him in line.' He beamed widely at the Queen of the Underworld who took the quill off of Hermes still looking a little overcome by all of this. 'Just sign here my dear and the Elysian Fields are yours.' He gestured to the line under his own signature.

Persephone paused, reading over the contract as a small smile spread over her lips as she signed the paper… The Goddess of Life then beamed and took from Zeus what was _now_ rightfully hers before bidding them both a cheerful 'nice doin' business with ya' before vanishing in a swirl of orbs giggling.

'Uh, don't mean to sound like Athena Big Z..' Hermes sounded slightly concerned. '-but are ya sure that was a wise move?'

'Of course..' Zeus sounded jovially. '-just wait until she sees what's waiting for her in there..'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya peeps, I always end up saying this but please review it's always nice to hear what fans think and I get such a high from knowing that you all are liking the story… I'm on holiday now so I'm getting more time for writing and I'm having such fun…_

_Yes your right Disney Princess, that is one version of events but as you may have noticed I used the other version in P.o.P (see chap2 if you need a reminder) because of course, little Eris wasn't around at the time the Trojan War was going down in my fic… and yeh, it totally sounds like something Maleficent would do…_

_I really wanted the Elysian Fields back under Underworld control, it was something I was planning when writing P.o.P and I'll let you all guess what Zeus' final line in this chap means… think about it peeps…. _

_I also hope you like the mention of Hermes' mother, everybody clams to be a big fan of the little blue god but you never hear anything about his past do you?_

_Take Care…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy xXx_


	4. Baby Blues and the Husband you Schmooze

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up… This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And finally, a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

_**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**_

_**Chapter Four:**__**Baby Blues and the Husband you Schmooze**_

Havoc and Mayhem slipped through the back way into the Underworld, they'd have never have gotten in the main entrance without alerting Charon to their presence. The skeletal boatman was never friendly to anyone without a coin and he certainly wasn't friendly to anyone associated with Hecate.. The witch wasn't allowed near the Underworld without a personal invite from Hades himself… which, after the few times she'd tried to usurp his throne already, was never going to happen.

The two wolves were moving carefully through the trees on the far side of the Asphodel Fields when the thundering of hefty paws sounded. The two wolves barely had time to hide before the enormous three-headed Cerberus bounded passed dragging Hades with him.

'Would ya just slow down and find a freakin' tree already!' The Lord of the Underworld bellowed digging his heels into the ground but unfortunately, since Cerberus was now far too strong for him, this did nothing to heel the enormous mutt.

'Whoa..' Hades sounded narrowly missing a low branch of one of the dying poplar trees. 'Cerberus stop! Heel boy.. _heel!_' Suddenly the enormous three-headed rottwiller dog screeched to a halt, his three noses were twitching as he sniffed the air keenly… unfortunately Hades carried on forwards.

'Yaaaaaahh!' He shot passed Cerberus, who was now tracking the scent he'd caught, and flew into a large knot of Persephone's sharp thorny creeping vines.

Hades cursed loudly as he got unsteadily to his feet and pulled himself out of the knot of thorns surrounding him. This caused a ripping sound as several large gashes were made in the sides of his chiton..

'Oy vey..' Hades groaned inspecting the damage… _Great, that'll be another chiton for the missus to repair.._. the fiery god then sighed heavily at this thought, he hadn't seen his wife all day so he had no idea how her meeting with Zeus had gone and he hoped she was getting on alright with her minion interviews..

The Lord of the Underworld was starting to regret taking Cerberus for this walk… it was only increasing his stress-levels even further… curse those damn imps for making him get a dog..

Suddenly the fiery god became aware of a low growling noise, wondering what had caught Cerberus' attention Hades turned back around towards his guard-dog-in-training.. Hades' large golden orbs rolled in disbelief as he found Cerberus was growling at a particularly spooky-looking cypress tree which had a ring of long-stemmed Asphodels growing around it.

_Oh for the love of Erebus, this dog is dumber than the imps.._

'It's just a freakin' tree..'Hades sighed placing his fingers on the bridge of his nose, his patience teetering on it's edge. This dense mutt was going to drive him mushuga..

'K_nock it off!_' The fiery god bellowed yanking hard on all three leads causing Cerberus' heads to jerk but the three-headed dog merely pulled his head back, glared with six narrowed red eyes, bared three sets of teeth and growled again at the tree.

'Oh for _Nyx's sake_..' Hades seethed, his skin glowing a slight orange shade at his brainless pet, completely unaware that what Cerberus was growling at was the scent of Hecate's wolves. The fiery god began yanking with all his might on the leashes while grunting through gritted teeth 'Get… over… here… ya… _big_… _stupid_… _mutt_..' Finally after a particularly violent tug Cerberus turned away from the tree snorting with annoyance.

'Heh, c'mon Cerberus, I'll letcha take a dip in the Acheron before we get home..' Hades sounded wearily and the enormous guard dog trotted along-side the fiery god as they began walking away from the large sterile forest.

As the two of them rounded the corner towards the Acheron river, which forked off of the Styx on the left-hand side of the House of Hades, the two grey wolves emerged from their hiding place deep within the raised roots of the grey cypress tree.

'That was a close one..' The first sounded in a silky tone shaking off some of the grey bark from his fur.

'Too close..' His brother agreed nodding slowly.

'Let's follow them, we need to keep Hades in earshot if we're going to get the kind of information Hecate needs.' The first sounded in the same silky tone.

'Then let's keep to the shadows..' The other sounded instantly. '-there's less chance of that maddening mutt sensing our presence..' The first nodded in agreement and as silent as a ghost they slipped down in the direction of the River of Sorrows..

* * *

Meanwhile thousands of miles above them on the cloudy surface of Olympus Persephone had become side-tracked from her busy schedule after having caught sight of Aphrodite and her adorable little daughter Eris. The two goddesses were now chatting while having a cup of decaf nectar on Aphrodite's home, Cloud Nine. Little Eris was seated on her pink play-mat between them playing with the golden apple that Persephone and Hades had given her at her Birth Celebration.

'Wow..' Persephone smirked as the tiny red-skinned goddess babbled happily to herself rolling the apple around the floor. '-she really likes that thing doesn't she?'

'Oh yeh..' Aphrodite sounded nodding vigorously. '-she hasn't let it out of her sight since Hades gave it to her..' She sighed then lent down and ruffled her daughter's blonde curls, Eris didn't seem to notice her mother's fussing but squealed out as her apple rolled out of reach. Aphrodite rolled her large blue eyes then shook her head at her daughter's distressed features and picked her up off the floor. Big tears began to form in Eris' eyes and Aphrodite knew a tantrum was brewing.

'Alright, alright, don't throw a wobbly sheesh..' She groaned then retrieved the golden apple and handed it to her daughter, the tears stopped instantly and the red-skinned godling giggled happily and gummed the stalk.

'She's certainly a handful, isn't she?' Persephone commentated as Eris flashed her a contented smile.

'Nightmare more like..' Aphrodite sighed heavily suddenly looking tired. 'Harmonia was never this stroppy..' The Goddess of Love remembered how her other daughter had been as a baby, such a quiet peaceful child. Harmonia too looked like her mother except with lilac skin, pink hair and brown eyes. The young Goddess of Peace was fifty three in mortal years and today she was on the surface with her dragon-slaying boyfriend Cadmus, leaving her mother to deal with her bratty little sister alone.

'Maybe it'll get easier as she grows up.' Persephone shrugged and Aphrodite hummed thoughtfully at her words.

'Maybe..' She finally agreed while brushing a loose curl back off Eris' face. '-she can't be any worse than Ares, heh.. Hera told me he was absolute horror..' Persephone giggled amused, she could just picture a godling Ares whacking everything and everyone with a toy sword.

'Have you and Hades thought about having kids?' Aphrodite suddenly asked making Persephone blink, thrown by the question.

'Yeh, we've talked about it but Hades thinks we don't have the time for them..' The young goddess then mentally kicked herself.. _Oh shoot, why did I say that…_

'And what do you think?' Aphrodite asked bouncing Eris on her knee causing the red-skinned godling to clutch her golden apple tighter and frown at this new movement her mother was putting her through.

'I dunno, I guess we're both kinda busy..' She shrugged unsurely but Aphrodite merely smiled knowingly, recognising the signs of desire in Persephone's eyes.

'-but it doesn't stop you wanting one.' The Goddess of Love finished Persephone's sentence for her.

For a long moment there was silence as the goddesses regarded each other, Persephone with slight embarrassment while Aphrodite merely looked on and mused.

Ok, so she wouldn't have picked the grouchy, flame-haired god as a potential husband for Persephone but she had to admit after seeing them together on Olympus, the Goddess of Love could see how keen they were on each other… and if this helped Hades find some inner peace it was a bonus. But picturing him as a father? Personally she didn't think the god would make a good father figure.. but then she hadn't thought he would make great husband material either and he'd proved her wrong.

'I guess it's just a silly fantasy, huh?' Persephone shrugged carelessly causing the Goddess of Love to blink then shake her head roughly at these words.

'Ok Seph, here's the scoop..' Aphrodite finally sounded clutching Persephone's fingers in her one free hand. '-if you _really_ want kids then you gotta talk to Hades and find out how he truly feels about it, and if he does want kids then you shouldn't let your jobs get in the way..'

Persephone suddenly smiled feeling like a weight had been lifted off her heart… she should chat to other girls more often. Suddenly this thought made her remember about the minion interviews she was supposed to be dealing with.

'Oh my days, I am so lame and _waaay_ behind schedule..' The white-skinned goddess then bounced to her feet. 'I gotta bail on you Aphrodite but thank you so much..' She added. '-this was just what I needed..'

'Hey no problem Seph, you should come and see us more often..' Aphrodite said holding her baby girl more securely. Persephone smiled widely at them both before vanishing out in a swirl of orbs to go salvage her disrupted schedule.

* * *

It was very late in the evening when Persephone finally arrived back home in the Underworld exhausted but very pleased with the days results… not only had she hired herself some brand new minions but she had managed to wangle herself a domain of her very own too. Wasn't her little flame in for a surprise… mind you, she had to find her wayward husband first.

When Persephone couldn't find Hades in the throne room she headed for his study thinking that he had decided to finish off the Underworld Audit. The goddess frowned confused when he wasn't in his study… where could he have gone?

Finally after searching the large house they shared Persephone found her husband in the den. He was snoozing in his black bony Lay-Zee God slouching chair that he usually occupied when channel surfing through Tartarus Vision. Except instead of the T.V. remote in his lap there sat a reading scroll which rolled and fell on the floor as the fiery grunted and shifted in his sleep. Persephone picked up the scroll and unfurled it reading the title: Eternal Torment for Dummies. She rolled her eyes at this, Hades must have been looking for new ways to strike terror into the imps lives..

Persephone tilted her head slightly finding the sleepy little smile that crossed her husband's face so sweet. She wondered vaguely what he was dreaming about as she perched on the edge on his chair and ruffled his flames playfully. The next moment Hades began to shift restlessly and his serene smile twisted into a pained grimace.

'No.. leave me alone..' He suddenly moaned causing alarm to cross Persephone's face, she then clutched his chiton anxiously as he whimpered fearfully. Three whole years of marriage and those nightmares of the Vortex of Fire were still plaguing his sleep. Concerned for her husband's mental state Persephone had sought advice from Phantosis the God of Dreams. According to the youngest son of Hypnos, dreams were merely a way for the mind trying to deal with unresolved issues and that if Hades wanted the nightmares to stop he simply had to deal with his fears. Persephone however had soon found that it was easier said than done… the Lord of the Underworld had developed a knack of managing to skirt around his fear of water and showed no intentions of wanting to conquer it anytime soon.

'Hades!' Persephone sounded shaking him roughly. 'Sweetie wake up..'

The fiery god's eyes snapped open, fear welling up in them causing Persephone to cradle his head to her bosom and stroke his face lovingly as her husband calmed down.

'Seph, it was friggin' awful..' Hades sounded clutching his wife close. '-and I swear one of the souls had a pitchfork this time..'

'Oh Hades..' The white-skinned goddess sounded gently kissing his forehead. '-you know these dreams are a manifestation of your fear of water-'

Unbeknown to the two deities Hecate's wolves had been watching the whole time from a secluded hiding-place nearby.

'Hello..' One of the wolves sounded.

'This sounds just like the kind of information Hecate needs..' His brother added with a jagged leer at the two rulers of the Underworld. The two wolves then sneaked out of the room careful not to draw attention to themselves.

'-if you want them to stop all you have to do is confront your fear..'

'Persephone..' Hades sounded seriously pulling away from his wife so he could look her in the eyes. '-I admit I have a problem.. I'm just not ready to deal with it yet, capeesh?' The fiery god then sat up and stretched, trying to get rid of some of the stiffness in his joints.

'But sweetie..' Her green eyes filled with concern.

'I said 'capeesh'..' Hades added flashing his wife a look that clearly said 'don't argue with me'.

'Fine..' She sighed heavily then pouted irritably folding her arms… he was never going to get rid of these stupid dreams at this rate.

Hades didn't notice her scowl.

'So…' The fiery god sounded conversationally slumping back into his seat and manifested himself a cup of hot coffee out of a whirl of smoke. '-how'd it go with Bolt Boy then? Did he listen to ya or do his usual fake-an-interest-then-wave-you-off routine?' Hades frowned in memory of the amount of times Zeus had waved his opinion off, he still hated the smug git and avoided Olympus as much as he could.

'He did better than that..' Persephone sounded instantly perking up and flashing a girly smile at her husband who raised one eyebrow curiously as he took a swig of coffee. '-check this out.' She added pulling a scroll out of a swirl of orbs and passing it to Hades.

The fiery god took the scroll with mild interest expecting it just to be a written note from Hermes, the Council Scribe, detailing the meeting briefly. His brows then shot up as he read the first of two scrolls… by the time he'd finished reading it his eyes were wide with shock.

'Holy Nyx! He just gave you the Elysian Fields?' The fiery god blinked several times in disbelief before the smirk reappeared on his face. 'Heh, ya must've really pulled the clouds over his eyes babe… whatcha do? Bribe him?'

'No!' Persephone shook her head fiercely. 'I just explained to him that I didn't get enough reincarnation work and suggested a way to incorporate it in here..' She tapped the scroll before continuing. '-and Zeus approved and signed over the deeds to me..' She then pulled the Deeds to the Elysian Fields out from behind the first scroll, her name was down as the proprietor of the domain. '-he says as long as it remains a paradise for souls I can do what I like with it.'

Hades was too stunned to speak, Zeus never just signed things over… and how many times had he tried to get the Elysian Fields and been refused? He'd actually once tried to win it in a bet, which he lost thanks to Hercules.. But along comes his smart, beautiful wife and, bam! Bolt Boy just gives up the goods.. The fiery god then became aware of Persephone's voice..

'Oh isn't it wonderful Hades..' She sounded dreamily clasping her hands together. '-the entire Underworld is under our rule..'

It took a long time for the drachma to drop with the fiery god.. _The entire Underworld is under our rule…_ _our rule… our rule.._ He then dropped his now empty coffee mug as his brain caught the gist of what she was saying. They ruled the Underworld together, what was his was hers so that also meant.. what was hers was also his! He really was the Ruler of the _entire_ Underworld now..

Hades' blue flames rippled over him as excitement and pride swelled in his chest, his yellow eyes then snapped onto his wife who was smiling at him, echoing the affection he felt for her.

'Oh Seph I _freakin_' love you!' He practically bellowed and swept his wife into his arms and kissed her passionately. For a long moment they remained embraced before Hades pulled away and twirled his wrist causing the deeds to the rest of the Underworld to appear out of smoke, he then pulled a stapler out of nowhere and attached Persephone's deed to the pile feeling an immense sense of satisfaction at the clicking noise… he'd waited a few millennium just to hear that sound..

Persephone merely smiled as she watched her husband attach the Elysian Fields to the rest of the Underworld documents. She kept her arms wrapped around his chest and lent her head sleepily against his shoulder, the effects of a busy days work were finally starting to have an effect on her. The young goddess then yawned and nuzzled into him. Hades merely smiled wrapping an arm around his wife as the documents vanished again.

'Hey, I forgot to ask ya..' He sounded gently, suddenly remembering about the minion interviews. '-who did ya eventually hire onto the underworld payroll?'

Persephone blinked sleepily trying hard to stay awake and failing.

'Huh…' She yawned again. '-Oh, you can meet them tomorrow sweetie, they're coming down for orientation and I want them to meet the imps since they'll be working so closely together..' Hades merely nodded making a mental note to inform his two moronic minions before sweeping his scarcely conscious wife into his arms.

'Alright missy, it's bedtime for you..' He smirked amused and Persephone sighed pleasantly practically drifting off in his arms as he got up and carried her to their room.

* * *

_Little notes:_

_Hey Peeps and Peepettes, I've been on this sight for nearly a year now and my writing has come so far since I first started out… it's hard to believe that P.o.P was barely planned out at all but unfortunately this story requires a little more effort in the planning stacks just so the writing of this story matches up to it's predecessor… hope your all enjoying the extra effort I'm putting into it for you!_

_Yay, Cerberus is back… I love that dog! Those who watch the series will have noticed that Cerberus is like a Rottwiller pup in it while in the film he's more like a Doberman, I chose the series design because he was so adorably cute and that's the way I wanted him to come across._

_I wonder if any of you have figured out who Seph's new minions are yet, those who remember your Greek history might remember them… how do you think the imps will react to their new co-partners? Only one way to find out!_

_Take care…_

_Love… Ditzy xXx_


	5. The Brand New set of Underlings

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up… This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And finally, a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

_**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**_

_**Chapter Five:**__**The Brand New Set of Underlings**_

Hecate cackled delighted by the news of Hades' fear of water…

'Ooh, Flame Boy kept that one quiet..' She sounded gleefully rubbing her hands together as numerous ways to torture the flaming deity came to mind instantly.

'I wonder how it came about?' The wolf on the left of her throne piped up in cool curiosity.

'Must've been a recent development or we'd have got a hint of it before..' His brother responded lazily from the right side of the throne.

'A recent development eh..?' Hecate mused thoughtfully, rubbing her pointed chin. 'Well the only recent thing to happen to the Underworld besides his marriage was four years ago when..' She tailed off remembering the whispers of souls she had heard about Hercules knocking Hades into the Vortex of Fire, and how their ruler had 'never seemed quite right since'.. Hecate had dismissed it then as idle gossip but now the pieces seemed to fit… it was always Persephone or the imps seen down by the Styx nowadays and on the rare occasion Hades was their he kept his feet firmly on Underworld stone, staying away from the edge of the jetty. This in itself wasn't anything suspicious. However couple it with the fact that Hades was never seen in Charon's gondola anymore and suddenly it all made perfect sense.

Both wolves were watching her eyes mist over as the witch seemed to have figured something out, they glanced at each other hoping their mistress wasn't going to leave them in the dark.

'Of course…' Hecate then uttered vaguely. '-that 'trip' into the Vortex of Fire must have messed him up more than I thought..' She then lounged back in her throne, relaxing with a large lazy smirk on her lips.. This was a good start but she would need more.. much more if she was going to show those two egotistical rulers of the Underworld just what happened when you pissed of a witch…

And so the next morning, Havoc and Mayhem both sneaked into the domain of Hades and Persephone, hell bent on digging up anything that could help their mistress in her bid for Underworld supremacy.

* * *

'Do we have to meet them..' Came the whiney voice of Panic from behind the two rulers of the Underworld as they led the imps out the rear of the House of Hades and down to the Grove of Lethe where Persephone's new underlings were waiting.

The Goddess of Life rolled her eyes and sighed but ignored him.

'Yeh..' Chipped in Pain who was also feeling defiant. '-why do we even _need_ new minions anyway?'

This time Hades let out a growl of annoyance as his skin and hair flashed briefly orange. This was all they had got ever since collecting the imps from the throne room and he'd had just about enough of the mutinous attitude. The fiery god then swivelled around at the base of the steep staircase they had just come down causing Pain to stop and Panic, who had been bringing up the rear, crashed into him. The pink imp winced before turning and pushing his green partner away from him scowling.

'I am gonna explain this to you one last time 'kay..' Hades sounded in a slow baby voice laced with badly suppressed annoyance. 'My wife-' He gestured to Persephone who had her hands on her hips with a exasperated expression. '-can hire anyone she likes whether you little yutzes like it or not…' The fiery god then paused before exploding into flames and bypassing orange to an infuriated red. '-_now get over yourselves and make with the nicey-nice!_'

Both Pain and Panic shivered, nodding with simpering nervous grins at their flaming mad boss, it was best not to argue unless you wanted a flame facial followed by an excruciating wall-smashing treatment. Hades swivelled away from the imps, who both scurried over to Persephone while his back was turned, and flared irritably before extinguishing the flames with difficulty and returned blue catching his wife's concerned expression..

'It's fine.. I'm cool.. I'm fine..' He said to her shrugging off his blazing moment with a few calming breaths. For a moment Persephone looked unsurely at him, then the fiery god flashed her a reassuring smile which she returned before turning to the imps in front of her.

'Look, I know your not exactly happy about this-' Persephone started and behind her Hades rolled his large yellow orbs.

'Oh there's the understatement of the century..' He uttered sarcastically but Persephone ignored this and carried on.

'-but I think you'd really like them if you gave them a chance..' She flashed the imps an alluring girly smile and batted her eyes in a way that always insured she got what she wanted. 'So whadda you say boys, will you give them a chance, for me?' Pain beamed widely at his queen, he'd always done everything she'd said with a moronic grin on his simpering face.

'Anything you say your attractiveness..' He added in an fawning tone and the goddess smiled before turning to his slightly more stubborn partner.

'Panic?' She sounded softly causing the green imp's bug-eyes to turn to her. 'What about you?'

Panic made a noise of uncertainty at Persephone, he really wasn't comfortable with the idea of sharing duties with other beings but then she was his boss so what choice did he have?

'Ohh… ok then.' Panic sounded rather reluctantly.

'Way to guilt 'em into it Seph..' Hades uttered smirking at the two imps.

'It's what I do..' Persephone smiled sweetly to him.

'Alrighty then, let's get this meeting under way..' Hades sighed then whirled around towards the grove, placed two fingers in his mouth and let out a short sharp whistle.

For a moment there was silence before the sound of fluttering wings could be heard. The imps looked around expectantly, unsure what exactly they were to expect. The next second three nymph-sized girls dropped down from the ceiling.

'You called master Hades..' Three high-pitched girly voices trilled harmoniously together.

Pain and Panic's jaws dropped open in shock at the sight of them. They were completely identical with their pale minty skin, light blonde hair and deep purple eyes. The three girls were stunning with their white feathery wings and both imps couldn't help staring at them as they giggled girlishly.

'Boys, meet the Sirens… the newest members of Team Hades..' The fiery god smirked, he'd already been introduced to them so they could draw up a contract and get it signed.

'I'm Tele..' The first sounded cheerfully.

'-I'm Raidne..' The second chirruped.

'-and I'm Molpe..' The third chimed in.

'-pleased to meet'cha..' The three sounded harmoniously together smiling identical girly smiles at the imps, who merely continued to stare mindlessly at the three beauties.

'Y'know somethin'..' Hades sounded amused to Persephone. '-I think they're gonna get on _just_ fine..'

'Here's hoping..' The goddess sighed smiling back at her husband.

* * *

Hidden amongst in the bushes nearby the two wolves were watching, hanging on to every word.

'He's hired on more help?' One of them sounded with disbelief.

'No Havoc, _she_ has..' Mayhem smirked at his brother amused by his reaction.

'This can't be good news..' Havoc said pulling his nose back from the bushes and rounding on his brother.

'Will ya re-lax Havoc, they're nymphs… when trouble starts they'll run and hide, it's in their nature..'

'Still, it's another obstacle to get passed..' Havoc sounded concerned.

'Pffft… let Hecate worry about that..' Mayhem rolled his eyes, Havoc worried to much in his opinion.

* * *

'Ok boys, I want ya to give the girls the grand tour..' Hades sounded cheerfully. '-show them the ropes, get them settled in, yadda, yadda, yadda… capeesh?'

'You can count on us your combustibleness..' Pain sounded instantly flashing the Sirens a wide leer, he was liking this idea a little too much.

'Sorry to burst your bubble Pain but they've all taken Chastity Vows..' Persephone's brows raised amused at the pink imp's suddenly crestfallen face.

'Oh man, we never get a break..' The pink imp sounded huffily causing Panic to roll his eyes.

'Just ignore him ladies..' The green imp threw a simpering smile at the three nymph-beauties. '-let's get the tour started shall we? ' He then indicated the Sirens to follow him. 'Right this way..' Pain looked up as his skinny green partner lead the Sirens away.

'Hey, hey, wait for me Panic..' He then shot down the path after them.

Hades watched them all disappear around the sharp jagged corner amused, time would only tell how this lot all got on. The fiery god then turned around to his wife who was suddenly looking forlorn, her green eyes downcast to the sandy floor of the Grove of Lethe and her slim arms folded across her chest.

'Seph..' Hades sounded softly looking concerned. '-what's wrong my sweet..' He added wrapping his arms around her. Persephone sighed heavily keeping her head turned away from him.

'Nothing..' She finally uttered with a sigh but Hades wasn't buying it.. she'd been acting strange for weeks now.. She'd become quiet and reserved at times, just staring off wistfully into space and ignoring him.. At first the fiery god dismissed it but as time went on it was growing steadily worse and he was becoming increasing worried. Had he done something to upset her? Did she not want to live in the Underworld anymore? Or worse… did she not want to be with him anymore?

It had been his idea for her to hire herself some handmaidens, there was next to no female company for his wife in the Underworld, unless you counted dead souls, and Hades figured that if Persephone had some female underlings she'd perk up a little.

So much for that theory…

'Look, something's botherin' ya Seph..' He tried again. 'Ya think I haven't noticed? C'mon I'm your husband give me a little credit..' He smirked briefly, hoping for a little smile but it never came.

Persephone sighed again and turned around to him staring widely into his confused and hurt eyes. Should she tell him? She'd been obsessing over it for weeks… and he deserved to know. Of course he'd noticed she was upset about something, he'd always been able to read her like an open scroll.. He probably thought she was sick of being with him… Oh gods no, that was not it at all! How could he even think that after all they'd been through? She loved him, she'd always loved him ever since she'd first seen him over fifty years ago… she'd rather die than live without him..

She should just tell him, Aphrodite said she should… Yes, she was going to tell him, she was going to tell him right now..

'Hades..' She spoke softly then faltered as nerves built up… _Yup, great start Seph, now finish it off… anytime now.._ Hades blinked at her. _Come on Seph… four little words that's all it is, just four tiny insignificant words…_

The fiery god was now starting to look anxious as though expecting some devastating news. _Yup, this is it Hades… she's dumping ya… four years together is about to go right down the tubes, good job jerk…__ Wait, what did she just say?_

'Excuse me?' Hades spoke hardly daring to raise his voice higher than a whisper.

'I want a baby..' She sounded again, this time with more sincerity.

...From in the bushes nearby both wolves gawped completely taken aback by the goddess' words… whatever they'd expected to unearth it certainly wasn't this and judging by the look on Hades' face he'd clearly not expected it either...

'A baby?' Hades repeated staring at his wife in shock. Persephone nodded with a smile, relieved that the big secret she'd kept on her was no longer weighing her down. A small amount of relief was also washing across Hades, at least she wasn't dumping him but still… a baby? That was what all this was about?

'Seph..' He suddenly sounded full of pity for his wife. '-we talked about this remember, I thought we agreed that we didn't have time for kids..' Hades could admit that it was a nice idea and as much as he would love a little mini-Hades or mini-Seph running around, terrifying the imps and annoying Zeus and Jerkules, he had to be realistic about this… They were busy gods, how could they raise a baby and still do their jobs? He just couldn't see how it would work..

'I know…' Persephone sounded heavily hanging her head glumly. '-but I still want one… don't you?' Her green eyes were on him again, wide and tearful waiting for the answer she could see staring back at her from his golden orbs. The uneasy look crossed Hades' face again and he groaned before the words rolled reluctantly off his tongue.

'Ya know I do..' He sounded causing a watery smile to curve Persephone's cherry lips.

'Then we'll make it work, I promise..' She sounded taking his head in her hands. Again Hades made an uncomfortable noise as though still unsure about it. 'Please… I know we can do this..' She pleaded knowing he'd fold if she kept on at him.

Hades sighed with a shake of his flaming head. When did he become so easily swayed?

'Alright babe, if this is really what you want…' A twisted smirk suddenly appeared on Hades' lips as he leered at the goddess in front of him. '-besides, knockin' ya up sounds like my kinda fun..' Hades purred narrowing his eyes playfully then grabbing Persephone, causing the goddess to squeal with delight as the pair vanished in a curl of smoke to get started on their future kid..

* * *

The wolves crawled out from the bushes they'd been hiding in and threw each other an amused jagged smirk… this was probably going to come as a quite a shock to their mistress…

'I don't see why we should keep her waiting..' Mayhem sounded spreading his large grey wings.

'Neither do I..' Havoc agreed, also extending his large wings. '-after all, it's not like we'd want to eavesdrop on them now..'

'Not unless you want to be scarred for life..' Mayhem added and both wolves laughed amused before flying off to their mistress' grotto, careful not to be seen by any Underworld residents.

Hecate's face was a picture once the wolves had finished telling her the news. Like them she had not been the least bit worried about Persephone's new underlings, the Sirens were basically nymphs with wings and everybody knew that nymphs were spineless little creatures anyway. But the witch nearly swallowed her own tongue when she found out the other little surprise…

'A baby?' Hecate squawked out. '_Those_ two are trying for a _baby_?' She suddenly cackled at the very idea. 'Oh my days I feel so sorry for the brat already!' She practically choked on her own laughter. The wolves merely exchanged a glance unsure what she was getting at.

'Oh come on!' She sounded irritably. 'Could you imagine that bad-tempered fiery git as a father? And that air-headed goddess is hardly mother material is she? The Fates only know how screwed up in the head any kid of their's would be!'

'She's not pregnant yet Hecate..' The wolf on the left spoke calmly. '-you could still carry out your plan before then..'

Hecate who had gotten off her throne and began pacing stopped at these words.

'No..' She sounded musingly, twirling her thin staff while gazing into the fire. Both wolves cocked their heads curiously, knowing their mistress was onto something. '-perhaps we should wait a little while… this is a rather intriguing development..' Her silvery eyes shone in the light of her blue fire as it flickered and danced in front of her...

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, I must admit I love the resistance from Pain and Panic in this chapter, their reluctance to accept any new minion is very cute.. The more research I do on these two the more I notice just how different they are personality-wise which is what I'm trying to bring across… although I'm not sure what their meant to represent in mythology, my best guess is Lamina (shape-shifting demons) which appear more as mischief makers than anything else.. Sound familiar?_

_Ok, again more myth coming out of me, (gods I'm sorry, I explain way too much don't I?) there are several stories concerning the Sirens, many consider them loyal servants of Persephone after the part they played in trying to find her when she went missing… some say Demeter gave them their wings as punishment for loosing her daughter while others say Aphrodite cursed them for failing to succumb to her and taking a Vow of Chastity… I think it's obvious which way I'm going.. I'd also like to point out that although they do appear in the episode of Hercules and the Argonauts, I have my own look for them but their dislike for Jason and his ship will probably come back at a later date.._

_How will Hades' Imps and Seph's Sirens get along?_

_Stay tuned to see…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy x_


	6. The Hi'Jinx' of a Minion Posse

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up… This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And__ a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

_Finally, please vote on the poll in my profile... the results shall be revealed at the end of D.H.L thank you x x_

_**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**_

_**Chapter Six:**__**The Hi'Jinx' of a Minion Posse**_

As spring rolled into summer the warm weather brought work in the Underworld to a complete halt… the 'summer slump' was officially in effect as a steady supply of fresh food and mortal health at it's highest point meant that very few, if any, souls appeared by the Styx. It had been two months since Hades and Persephone had started trying for a baby and the young queen still wasn't pregnant yet. Neither deity was particularly worried right now, it was still early days and they were rather enjoying themselves anyway.. Demeter had been ecstatic to learn that the Underworld couple had changed their minds about having a baby, she even insisted that Persephone should 'work' on giving her a grandchild while she took care of the seasons..

'But what about Zeus?' Persephone had asked, knowing that baby making was not going to fly as an excuse to get out of her Life duties.

'Oh forget him Cora-dear..' Had been her green-skinned mother's airy response. Persephone had been so stunned by this that she forgot to correct her mother on calling her 'Cora'. '-just show up here every so often to show face and you leave the rest to me… this is much more important than what Zeus wants isn't it?' The Goddess of Nature had trilled excitedly then shooed her daughter off to the Underworld, promising not to tell a soul about their baby plans, that was their business not hers…and after all 'mom's the word..'

And so the Goddess of Life had orbed back home, to the delight of her bored and fiery other half…

Pain and Panic were slumped by one of the spindly sharp sculptures in a quiet corner of the throne room reading a copy of Misfortune Magazine, every so often they would look up and lance a glare towards the Sirens who were giggling and chatting in hushed whispers while sprawled out across the chessboard at the other side of the room.

'Their plotting something-' Panic sounded, ducking his head back down and pretending to read the article 'There's Danger All Around You'.. '-but what?' He frowned, after having to live with those three incessantly cackling nymphs for two months, both imps had decided the girls were evil and not to be trusted… especially as these three girls seemed to always start something whenever both their boss' were busy getting 'intimate' and that something usually ended up with the imps getting roasted by an irate Hades for disrupting his 'schnookie time' with Miss Persephone..

'Man..' Pain sounded. '-I just don't get why Hades and Persephone can't see them for the scheming nymphs they are..' The pink imp pouted irritably glancing over to their two bosses who were entwined in each others arms making out on the throne completely oblivious to the company around them.

'Because..' Panic rolled his eyes impatiently. '-the Sirens have them bewitched! That's why we can't ask them for help..' He frowned at his pink partner's stupidity.

'We can't..?' Pain sounded really worried now.

'Watch… I'll prove it..' Panic sounded then passed his pink partner the magazine and walked over to Hades and Persephone who were still entwined. The goddess was now running her fingers over her husband's chest and giggling as he whispered something amorous in her ear then stroked her hips gently. Hades' yellow eyes suddenly snapped onto the skinny green imp with a slight scowl.

'What is it?' The fiery god sounded with a heavy sigh as Persephone swivelled around to see who had interrupted them.

'Pain and I can't read our magazine 'cause those three cackling witches are plotting against us and disturbing the peace..' The tiny green imp pouted jabbing a finger towards the three Sirens who instantly stopped giggling and turned to the group with innocent looks.

'Panic don't call them names..' Persephone chided him gently as Hades glanced towards his wife's minions who were harmlessly huddled together on the chessboard. He then turned back and frowned at the tiny green imp.

'Pffft, they've got better things to talk about than you imps..' Hades rolled his eyes before turning to his wife with a smirk. 'Sheesh, check out the ego on this one, huh?' Persephone giggled silently at her husband's words before Hades swivelled back around to Panic.

'Get outta here ya little pisher..' The fiery god waved the imp off irritably before returning to wife.

'But sir..' Panic sounded causing Hades to shudder with frustration then swivel once more to the imp blazing orange.

'I said get lost before I mutilate ya!' He roared and the green imp dashed off back to his chubby pink partner. Persephone then grabbed her smouldering husband by the chiton and dragged him into a kiss. Hades instantly returned to blue kissing her passionately back.

'My god..' She breathed breaking off the kiss. '-I love it when you get all fired up..' These words caused Hades' eyes to narrow at her as his smirk widened.

'Well, maybe I should show ya just how fired up I can get..' He purred, blue flames spreading over his shoulders as he seized her tightly and the pair of deities vanished in a curl of black smoke.

* * *

'See…' Panic sounded irritably as he approached his pink partner. '-I told you they weren't gonna be any help.'

'What are we gonna do now?' Pain sounded looking anxiously at his skinny green partner.

Meanwhile, the Sirens had been giggling as their bosses left…

'I know what we can do..' Tele, the ringleader of the three Sirens, suddenly sounded causing the two imps to swivel in their direction. '-let's play Truth or Dare..'

'Truth or Dare.. Truth or Dare.. Truth or Dare..' The other two chanted excitedly.

'Aww no..' The imps sounded in a sighing drawl… here they go again..

'I pick dare..' Raidne sounded cheerfully.

'Me too..' Molpe trilled gleefully.

'Ok, ok..' Tele giggled. '-I dare you to…' She tailed off as her purple eyes glanced around the room before settling onto the imps. The Siren smirked evilly at the sight of them. '-kiss Pain and Panic..'

'Ewww…' The other two squealed with high-spirited disgust.

'Oh gods…' Pain sounded as dread filled his being.

'Run for it..' Panic finished and both imps dashed out of the throne room.

* * *

The two imps shot down the corridor of the House of Hades before diving into the den, where Hades liked to watch Tartarus vision in his spare time. The two anxious imps dived behind a long grey curtain and sat shaking, praying to some unseen force that the scheming Sirens didn't find them. Suddenly the door of the room opened but no noise of footsteps sounded… Both Pain and Panic held their breathes with their eyes tight shut… just let them look around and leave..

The Sirens entered the den and scanned the room. It looked peaceful on the surface but they spotted a small quivering mass behind the long-hanging grey curtain. The next second the three girls grinned mischievously at each other… _bingo!_

Tele signalled Molpe to take one side then Raidne to take the other and they took their positions smiling at their sister. Tele, who was now floating above the mass, then slipped both her hands unseen into the curtain and grabbed both the green and pink tails of the imps and yanked on them hard.

'_Yeaow!_' Pain and Panic shot out of the curtain in agony only to be enveloped into a Siren's embrace as Raidne and Molpe kissed them both squarely on the lips.

Both imps spluttered with disgust as they were dropped down onto the floor.

'Ewww… gross…' They gagged before sounding in whiney tones. '-we're telling Hades and Seph!'

'Your telling who?' Tele sounded in mock-surprise.

'Hades and Seph!' Pain and Panic retorted at the same time as Raidne and Molpe.

'_Jinx!_' Tele squealed out in delight causing both imps to blink confused.

'Now you can't talk-' Raidne started.

'-until one of them says your _nah-hames…_' Molpe sing-songed and all three Sirens giggled at them before flying off out of the room.

Both Pain and Panic glowered after them. _Damn those Siren-witches…_

* * *

The day passed slowly as the imps were once more sat in silence reading their magazine by the spindly sculpture in the throne room. Hades was once more sprawled out lazily across his throne. His wife and her minions had gone to the surface to show their faces so Zeus wouldn't get suspicious about the fact that Persephone was ducking her duties to spend time with her husband.

The next second two souls shot through the throne room causing the alarm to ring twice and the counter over the doorway to the Vortex of Fire to click forward two digits… Over one million, five-hundred thousand, three hundred and eighty-seven souls served.

Hades groaned sliding further down in his throne, his eyes still lazily narrowed and disliking the idea of getting out of his throne to start work as he was still exhausted from the activities he and his wife had been up to earlier…

He sighed heavily as though about to muster the strength to haul himself out of his throne before his eyes caught sight of his two minions in the corner. They had been so quiet that he hadn't even noticed that they were in the room. This was strange, usually they couldn't keep their little yaps shut long enough but for some reason they were behaving perfectly… Hades mentally waved off this thought, he wasn't going to complain about it.. At least now he didn't have to get up and go deal with the stiffs…

'Hey you..' He sounded lazily from his throne clicking his fingers trying to remember what kind of creatures they were. '-imps..' He grinned widely as this last word caused both imps to lower their magazine as look around towards him. '-get over here a sec..' He beckoned them forwards and the two imps instantly dropped their magazine and tottered over to him standing politely before him with expectant expressions.

Hades blinked confused by their silence.

'That it?' He asked raising a brow. '-no grovelling… no whining..' He expected the usual 'what is thy bidding your flamefulness' or 'what is it you desire your most combustibleness' to kick in at this point…

Unfortunately neither happened…

Instead the imps glanced at each other nervously then looked back at him… they were still jinxed. How were they supposed to get him to say their names?

Hades glared at them now..

'What in Tartarus is wrong will you two?' He asked them suspiciously waiting for an answer. Instead of getting one Pain and Panic glanced at each other again before bouncing on the spot, flailing their arms wildly and looking agitated..

Once more Hades blinked confused by these agitated gestures before flaring briefly orange in annoyance… his patience slipping with every arm movement the imps made.

'What the-?' The fiery Lord of the Underworld sounded irritably. 'I don't have _time _for your stupid little games!' He snarled finally losing his cool..

The imps were now sweating… The boss was severely pissed off, there was only one thing for it… Pain and Panic then began morphing into letters spelling out the words 'Say Our Names'..

Hades raised an eyebrow still infuriated by the imps inability to talk to him.

'_Why in the name of Erebus should I have to say your freakin' names?_' He roared lowering his flaming mad head to their level.

'Because we've been jinxed!' The chubby pink imp suddenly burst out surprising Hades and causing Panic to silently slap his face with disbelief… _nice going Pain_..

For a long moment the fiery god returned blue staring in incredulity before realising that one of them had spoken out of their jinx. Hades then smirked amused and flung a fireball at them which swept them straight into the wall creating two impressive imp shaped dents where they crashed through the outer crust. The fiery god smirked amused as two dazed and slightly charred imps crawled out of their holes and staggered back towards him.

'What was that for?' Panic sounded unsurely trying to get his bearings and stop his eyeballs from spinning all over the place. Pain merely groaned in disarray before collapsing in a heap and his long purple tongue lolled out..

'Ya spoke outside your jinx so I get to smash ya into a wall..' Hades smirked amused as Panic shook off his dizziness and Pain finally clambered to his feet. '-it's the rule..' The fiery god added narrowing his eyes.

'You wanted to see us about something your most vindictiveness..' Pain piped up deciding to change the subject as it sounded like their boss had just made that rule up..

'Yes…' The fiery god sounded airily settling himself back down into his throne with a pleasant sigh. 'Didja see the two stiffs that waltzed through here a few moments ago?'

Both imps shook their heads.

'Really..' Hades sounded raising a brow. '-well they went in there.' He pointed to the tunnel leading down to the Vortex of Fire. 'You know what that means boys, their in your district now _get moving_!' Pain and Panic didn't need to be told twice, they grabbed their clipboards off of the chessboard and disappeared into the tunnel leading to the fiery green whirlpool. Both imps knew that Hades had only put them in charge of the souls of the vortex because he was avoiding it for some reason… they just couldn't figure out why.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, I'm super-psyched to be in the Hercules section with so many great fanfic-writers so please, please, please review so I know all my fans managed to find this story ok! I'm probably worrying for no reason… but I love my fans and I am concerned.._

_Lol, Disney Princess your gonna have to sign up and get a profile so I can just mail you a response to your questions hun… but yeh, that's the ones, there's also a version of Jason and the Argonauts in which they appear, Jason had himself tied to the mast so he could listen to the Siren song. He also had the crew stuff their own ears with wax so they could steer the ship passed the three haunting beauties… that's the version Disney's Hercules follows in the series so I just went with them on this one, besides the stories of Odysseus and Jason have gotten mixed up over the centuries so it's actually hard to tell the exact details for sure but I actually think the Sirens are part of the Jason story because Odysseus was side-tracked by Circe.. _

_Ok, I hope you like this chapter, it's more about the Sirens and imps rather than Hades and Seph… I find their little rivalry very cute…_

_See ya next time sweeties…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy x x_


	7. Heaven is a Place Under Earth

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up… This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

_Finally, please vote on the poll in my profile or you'll make the imps cry… _

_**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**_

_**Chapter Seven:**__**Heaven is a Place Under Earth**_

As the days passed slowly tensions between the imps and Sirens were no better, but the boys were getting good at giving the girls the slip, one of the advantages to spending your whole life in the Underworld was you knew all the best hidey-holes were.. Fortunately Pain and Panic didn't have to worry about hiding from the girls too much as Miss Persephone and the Sirens had been getting up early to go and catalogue the souls in the Elysian Fields.

This was a lengthy process as Zeus, in all his infinite wisdom, had absolutely no records of the souls who were inhabiting this realm. Meaning that instead of having a long lazy lie-in with plenty of baby-making action, which was what she'd rather be doing, Persephone found herself up to her pretty green eyeballs in paperwork trying to sort out the mess Zeus had left her with… The young goddess groaned irritably while flexing her now aching wrist, she suddenly had new empathy towards how her husband felt doing the endless paperwork for the rest of the Underworld.

Thinking of Hades made the young goddess sigh heavily as she looked around the bright and sunny realm. It really was beautiful in here… with it's bright plants and trees, cool and inviting pools of water and the relaxing treatments that the Elysium Spa had to offer.. she just wished her husband could experience it too. Especially as the warm artificial sun was making her feel amorous.

Persephone was seated in the shade of a small gazebo-type coliseum out the way of the sunlight to protect her pale skin which was already a slight shade of lilac, she glanced over and smiled at the Sirens who were taking a well-earned break and splashing each other with water from the pool nearby..

'Hey..' The Queen of the Underworld protested as she suddenly got splashed by her three giggling minions. She pulled her best 'I am not amused' mock-pout which only caused more giggles. Persephone then smirked before uttering, '-you three are _so_ dead..' Then the young queen ditched her paperwork and joined in the splash fight..

The four girls quite happily splashed each other until they were all good and drenched then Persephone called a halt to it. Now the four of them were basking in the long grass under the blazing heat of the Elysian Fields so they could dry off quickly then resume work..

'So…' Came Persephone's airy voice as she tried to brush some of the damp grass off her chiton. '-where shall we start girls..' She smiled as three sets of bright purple eyes scanned the surrounding area for souls they hadn't catalogued yet.

'What about him Miss Persephone..' Raidne sounded pointing a tiny minty finger in the direction of a couple of tall trees. The Queen of the Underworld straightened and turned her brilliant green eyes over to where the Siren was pointing. At the sight of this soul Persephone felt numb, tears threatening the edges of her eyes as a huge surge of long repressed grief and sorrow threatened to break free of the confines in which they had been locked away for nearly seventy years.

She wasn't aware of how long she stared at the soul, who was merely relaxing under the trees blissfully ignorant to her, but eventually the goddess became aware of a distant voice..

'Miss Persephone..' The very pale tinted-lilac goddess blinked, rousing herself from her staring but unable to rid herself of the heavy feeling in her chest… why hadn't anybody told her that he was here?

'Are you ok?' Tele's voice sounded as the three nymph-girls gazed concerned at their mistress who was looking mournful and terrified at the same time.

'I'm sorry..' Persephone shook her head and pushed the clipboard in her hand towards Molpe who took it. '-I just…' Persephone faltered feeling several large tears roll down her cheeks. '-I just…' Again she paused wiping the tears as the Sirens stared both confused as to why this one soul had managed to reduce their mistress to tears.. 'I just can't deal with this right now..' Persephone finally choked emotionally before vanishing in a swirl of orbs..

The three Sirens all gazed at each other in shock.

'Should we go after her?' Molpe asked unsurely, looking at the spot where their queen had left abruptly.

'No..' Raidne sounded shaking her icy-blonde head. '-we should go to Master Hades..'

'In a minute.' Tele agreed then took the clipboard off of her sister and began heading over to the soul under the tree. '-but first we better catalogue this soul so that Master Hades knows which one upset Miss Persephone..'

The soul in question had been relaxing with his eyes closed, completely unaware of the effect his very presence had on the new ruler of this blissful domain. He had been very surprised when he'd died to find himself in the Elysian Fields, he didn't feel that he had lived the kind of life that merit access to the Refuge of Heroes. The soul sighed heavily as memories of the day of his death came back to him.. perhaps this was Zeus' way of making it up to him…

'Excuse me..' A soft female voice sounded causing the soul to open his eyes and reveal two brilliant green eyes that rolled towards the three minty-skinned girls.

'Sorry to intrude on your afterlife sir but may we take a few details off you as a record of your presence in this realm?' The middle nymph sounded as the other two blinked at him with girly smiles.

'Of course…' The soul sounded in a low mellow tone, smiling back at them.

'Name please..' The nymph with the clipboard sounded pleasantly.

'Iason…' The soul replied simply.

* * *

Hades sighed heavily as he slumped against the archway to the docks of the Styx, not a single soul today, not one. This was the one thing he hated about the 'summer slump'.. the fact that the days seemed to drag. He couldn't even go and pester Persephone as she was in the Elysian Fields sorting out the mess Bolt Boy had left her. He sighed heavily, his wife was determined to figure out what Zeus had done to prevent Hades from entering the realm so that she could reverse it and let him inside to experience it for himself..

The fiery god was curious to see what it was like, after all it was the one area of the dead he had never had the chance to appreciate and from what Persephone had told him it sounded like a great place to get away from the stresses of Underworld-life.. No wonder Zeus wouldn't let him have it. _Lousy, stinkin,' son of Cronos… _The fiery god fumed, flaring a bright shade of orange..

'Master Hades… Master Hades… Master Hades..' Three girly voices squealed in unison, causing the fiery god to instantly stop venting and swivel his flaming head in the direction of the noise. His wife's minions were flying towards him and landing neatly on the docks. Hades returned blue blinking confused by their distressed expressions.

'Heh, what's the matter ladies..' He raised his brows. '-trouble in paradise?' The fiery god smirked amused at his own wisecrack.

'It's Miss Persephone my Lord..' Tele started in a worried voice.

'She's really upset sir..' Raidne added anxiously causing the smile to vanish from Hades' lips.

'She saw this soul in the Elysian Fields and completely freaked out before orbing out on us..' Molpe finished looking distraught.

'Alright, alright, alright..' Hades sounded as all three gave a wail of despair. '-settle down girls..' The fiery god refrained from rolling his eyes with difficulty… _Sheesh, what's with the waterworks.._ '-where is Seph now?'

There was a brief moment as the three Sirens composed themselves before answering.

'We don't know Master Hades..' Raidne sounded softly.

'She just sorta orbed out on us..' Molpe added gently.

'But here's some info on the soul that upset her..' Tele said holing out a roll of parchment towards him. Hades took it and unfurled the scroll and only needed to read the name at the top before understanding why his wife must have completely freaked at the sight of this soul. Then without a word he vanished in a curl of smoke to go and locate his better half, leaving the three girls to look at each other bemused, still not following what the big deal with this soul was…

As Hades wandered down the hallway, words that Hermes had once told him floated back into his mind.. _Iason, he was Demeter's hubby until he died.. _

Persephone's father was dead… Funny, the fiery god hadn't even thought that this would ever be an issue but where else was the dead spirit of her father going to go? Athens? Although the fact that her father had been living as a spirit in the Elysian Fields explained why Hades had no record of him in the Underworld… Zeus must have sent his soul straight to the refuge of heroes as a way of apologising to Demeter for her loss. That still didn't shed light on why Persephone was so upset by his presence in the realm, if anything Hades would have expected her to be happy in being reunited with her father after sixty-nine years.. But then again he'd never heard Persephone say anything about her father, when he tried to speak to her about him the young goddess just clammed up and refused to talk until he changed the subject..

Hades sighed heavily as he approached the door to their large bedroom… The fiery god reached out for the silver doorknob then paused as the sound of crying came from the other side of it. With a heavy sigh Hades then gripped the handle and turned the knob, swinging it open and entering the room. There was a swivel of movement and a flash of colour as the black covers wrapped themselves around the familiar mass of his wife huddled in bed.

'Sephykins..' Hades sounded tenderly as he perched himself beside her then lent over the covered form of his other half.

'Hades.. I'm not in the mood..' Persephone's huffy voice sounded muffled due to the sheets covering her face. Her words actually caused a smirk to curl across the fiery god's full blue lips and he laughed softly.

'Yeh..' His large golden eyes rolled expressively. '-like that's _really_ what I want..' He smiled at her before gently prizing the black bed-sheet out of her slim fingers and peeled it slowly downwards to reveal his lilac-tinted wife. Her green eyes were downcast and there was a sad, mournful expression on her face.

'Sephy..' Hades sighed causing her bright eyes to roll in his direction. '-the girls told me what happened..'

'Did you know he was in there?' Persephone asked softly, her voice was slightly choked.

'No..' Hades answered truthfully and a slight smile curved her lips.

There was a short pause of silence in which Hades took Persephone's dainty hand in his, smiling at the pale lilac tan that was tinting her usually pearly skin. Persephone's fingers tightened in his grip..

'Y'know you were gonna have to face him someday..' Hades sounded gently, raising his black pupils to meet hers.

'I can't..' Persephone sounded in a terrified whisper, suddenly looking like the lost little girl that had watched her father die all those decades ago.. Instinctively Hades pulled her into a protective embrace, holding her close as the goddess shook in his arms.

'_Baabe_…' The fiery god drawled. '-ya have to face this.. I mean c'mon, what kinda Queen of the Dead runs from death, huh?' He nudged her with a hint of a playful smirk twisting his lips. Persephone raised her head, her wide frightened green eyes fixed onto his calm golden ones.

'I can't face him alone..' She sounded gently causing the fiery god to sigh as his hands roamed up and down her back in slow comforting strokes.

'Sephy my sweet..' He sighed, it was time to put his title of 'Good Councillor' to good use. '-ya know I'd come with ya if I could..' Persephone wiped away the tear that was threatening to form and gave him a watery smile.

'Well..' She sounded gently. 'I might have worked out what's keeping you from entering..' The lilac-tinted goddess smiled at her husband..

'Ya have..?' Hades said blinking surprised.

'I think so..' She nodded thoughtfully. '-I mean, it's just a theory but it should work..' The goddess paused before her lips curled into a sweet little smile and her fingers ran along her husband's chest.. '-besides, I need you with me if I'm going to do this..' The young goddess sighed heavily, not sure if she was really ready to face her dead father.. But there were questions she needed answered and as long as her husband was holding her hand she knew she'd have the strength to find the answers..

The two gods shared one compassionate kiss before Hades' arms slipped further around Persephone's waist and the two of them vanished in a swirl of black smoke.

* * *

The fiery Lord of the Underworld gazed unsurely at the brightly lit realm of the Elysian Fields. The place looked so light, so calm and so inviting… unlike the rest of the Underworld.. It truly was torture for the fiery god just to look into this place. Especially since Zeus had kept him locked out of this realm for so long…

Hades felt his wife's hand squeeze his hand tightly, he looked around to see the 'frightened little girl' look back in her eyes.

'Are ya sure your ready to do this now..' He asked her gently her eyes swivelled to his with a sense of determination in amongst the green.

'I have to do this..' She sounded then added softly. '-and your right, how can I do my job properly if I don't?'

'Ok then, just checkin' babe..' Hades suddenly sounded airily rubbing his hands together. 'Soo… how's this theory of yours work then, huh? What ya gotta do to get me inside?' He added in one excitable breathe swivelling around to face his missus. Persephone smirked at her husband's enthusiasm, something about this almost boyish side to him had always been attractive to her..

'Nothing..' She replied simply and really loving the fact that this one word had managed to both deflate and confuse her husband.

'Nothin'..' He finally responded, scratching his flaming skull completely baffled. '-whatta ya mean your gonna do nothin' Sephy?' Persephone placed one hand demurely over her cherry lips and giggled amused.

'I don't have to do anything sweetie..' She sounded sweetly. '-you can waltz on in there anytime you like, I think you always could..' This seemed to make Hades even more confused and he merely looked blankly at her, still not following..

'Ok, clearly I'm still missin' somethin' here babe so why don'tcha just tell what I've to do… make things a whole lot easier m'kay..'

'Alright..' Persephone sighed. '-this realm is supposed to be for the restful refuge of pure and good souls right?' She asked her husband simply.

'Doy..' Hades sounded sarcastically and Persephone ignored it.

'Well, it's my theory that while you were trying to takeover the cosmos this barrier-' She fingered the thin golden light surrounding the realm. '-protected this place from you. See it's like a security guard, I don't think you can enter unless your intentions are pure..'

'What, so I have to act like a friggin' hero just to get in this joint..' Hades sounded horrified by the very idea… What was this? A punishment from Tartarus?

'No, no, no silly..' Persephone giggled amused by her husband's facial expression. '-you just keep ideas of realm domination out of your head..' She actually reached up and rapped the side of her husband's head. Hades blinked before smirking at his wife.

'Baby, I have no intentions of usurpin' this place from ya..' He sounded sincerely.

'Well that's good to know sweetie..' She beamed back at him then sidestepped in front of him so she was now in front of him, her back to the golden barrier that pulsed separating the bright lands of Elysium from the rest of the dreary Underworld.

Hades gazed at his wife, her eyes were nothing but green pools of love and she held out her slim lilac-tinted hands towards him with a serene smile, he vaguely noted that her lilac tan did not extend to her aura which was still star-white and shining brightly.

'Take my hands..' Her calm voice spoke and Hades hesitated, unsure if just taking her hands was really going to help him enter this place.. '-it's ok sweetie, you're with me..' Sighing heavily in a 'what've I gotta lose' manner Hades then reached out and took hold of his wife's tiny fingers.. Instantly he felt this strange sense of calmness wash over him. When he glanced down he noticed that his wife's aura had extended onto his skin too…

'Don't..' Persephone's voice sounded softly and his golden eyes swivelled back to her, he felt an instant rush of tenderness towards his wife as she smiled again.. '-stay focused on me.. it'll help.' Hades wasn't sure what exactly she meant but obeyed, focusing on her face. He became vaguely aware of her leading him forwards towards the barrier, taking small baby steps at a time.. But Hades kept his eyes to his wife, the light of his immortal life…

A strange new feeling washed over Hades as he felt the barrier's energy cross over his skin… it felt like something was scrutinising him, as thought it were trying to decide whether or not he was indeed worthy of entering.. There was a brief sense of resistance coming from the barrier which seemed to hold him firmly in place, refusing to let him mover further until it had completed it's check. Then amazingly he felt the resistance drop and Persephone was edging him forward again… into the Elysian Fields..

* * *

The first thing Hades felt as the sensation of the golden barrier left him was the incredible heat of the realm, it was like a sweltering summer's afternoon with a soft cooling breeze. Slowly, because of the brightness of the artificial sunlight Hades opened his eyes and squinted at his smiling wife..

'Welcome to the Elysian Fields Hades..' She said softly, smiling wider at him. Hades had to blink several times as his eyes adjusted to the change in brightness. It was almost like being on the surface, with it's heavenly blue sky and lush thick green grass.. but as you looked closer it was obvious that the whole place, like Tartarus and the Asphodel Fields, was merely an illusion on the human emotion of what the realm represented. In this case: Bliss… the grass was too soft to be real, the water in the pools were too blue and clean, the sun was too warm, the trees and plants were all too perfect and cheerful… the list went on and on.

Persephone smiled as she kept her fingers entwined in her husband's hand as they walked further into the realm, all the time she was watching as the fiery god gaze around like a curious child.. touching or observing everything he came in contact with… Every so often she squeezed his large greyish-blue hand, reminding him that she was there if he needed her. She felt him squeeze back briefly as a smile curled his lips but he remained distracted by the bright sights of Elysium. His rounded golden eyes learning as his sharp brain memorised the sights.

However nothing prepared Hades for the souls residing in this realm, they were corporal… It wasn't like the fiery god had never seen a flesh and blood spirit before. In fact, the whole of Tartarus was crawling with them, their wails and cries of misery filled the burning hell-hole from dawn until dusk and so they always would… But in this realm they weren't miserable, they were completely content with their surroundings and it not only confused the god but also made him nervous.. It wasn't a sight he was used to seeing. Something else he wasn't used to was the respect that all the souls gave him, many bowed low or uttered words on what an honour it was to be blessed by his presence after so many centuries of waiting… Hades had never received this kind of respect before but for once in his entire illustrious career as Lord of the Underworld he felt a strange sense of pride about his position.. The souls here viewed him as their leader, not Zeus… Showed just how much Bolt Boy truly cared about his little 'Refuge of Heroes'..

The young Queen of the Underworld felt her heart swell as her husband's sense of self-esteem increased due to the kind words of the souls in her realm… finally, he was receiving the kind of respect that she always knew he deserved. When her husband finally turned to her, still holding her dainty fingers in his hand, his eyes were brighter than usual as he appeared to be rather overwhelmed by the respect he was getting from the souls around him.. As he stepped up to her the souls automatically backed off and returned to their previous activities, knowing that this was none of their business.

'Y'know..' Hades breathed, finally letting go of her hand and slipping both arms around her waist. 'I've never had this kinda respect before.' He uttered thoughtfully, still trying to take the strangeness of this in.

'How does it feel?' Persephone asked with curious green eyes as her hands stroked his chest. The fiery god merely gazed at her for a long moment before a smirk twisted across his full blue lips.

'It feels pretty dam good Sephykins..' He said in a low voice causing his wife to flush with pleasure at these words. '-now why don't we go find daddy, huh?'

Immediately Persephone's smile was replaced with a look of trepidation, unease clouding into her brilliant green eyes. Hades merely raised a brow..

'Ya didn't think I'd forgotten 'bout that.. didja babe?'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya Peeps… first off apologies as this chap has been extremely difficult to write. Touching moments that include death are not my area of expertise as I have not lost anybody close to me, so it does take a little while to write as I don't entirely understand it (be kind, I do my best)… Secondly, this is an idea I was toying with writing at the end of P.o.P but dismissed it because it seemed too fluffy for an end to a fic for me… besides I can do it some real justice in this story, again it has nothing much to do with the main plot of the story but it's relevant in the character development of Persephone for her to be reunited with her dead father…_

_Ok, my vision of the Elysian Fields may not be as you see it, hence why my general descriptions are vague so that you can envision it the way you see it… It's generally meant to be perfect, it's beauty far surpassing the surface world above…but as I state in this story, it's all an illusion based on the human emotion of 'Bliss', just as Tartarus is based on 'Misery' and Asphodel Fields is based on 'Confusion'…_

_Until next time…_

_..Lot's of Love.._

_..Ditzy x _


	8. A Past Lost and a Future Found

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up… This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

_Finally, please vote on the poll in my profile or you'll make the imps cry… _

_**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**_

_Dedicated to anybody who reveiws and comes up with the best Underworld Saying... ;)_

_**Chapter Eight:**__**A Past Lost and a Future Found**_

Persephone gestured with a shaky finger to where the spirit of her father had been sitting under a group of trees. Hades glanced over and being a whole head and shoulders taller than his wife, he was able to see the soul still lounging in the cooling shade. The fiery god then turned back to his terrified wife and his expression softened instantly..

'Seph..' Hades sounded in a soothing voice as he took hold of her shoulders gently. '-you ok?' All her previous courage seemed to have drained away as the moment of facing her past was imminent. She barely registered her husband gripping her shoulders but merely gazed with wide green eyes at him.

'Sephy, c'mon baby say somethin'..' His voice was distant to her despite him being only a few inches in front of her.

'He died…' She uttered vaguely as the memories of that night swirled in front of her eyes. '-he died right in front of me.. I saw it… I saw it all..'

_Sixty-nine years ago… it was the late summer and the harvest was almost upon them.. her parents had taken her up to Olympus for the usual Monthly Mixer… Persephone was only fifty-two, her outer body looking like a twelve year old… curse her slow development, not even her parents could understand why she didn't age normally like the rest of the gods…_

'_Must just be part of your powers Persie..' Her father Iason had once said when she asked him why she didn't look like an adult yet. '-but don't you worry angelface, I'm sure you'll catch up soon enough..' Persephone had smiled widely, despite her pre-teen body, her father had always treated her like an adult, unlike her mother who still treated her the age her body looked like.._

_But on this day Persephone had been so excited.._

'_Now Cora..' Demeter had sounded in a chiding tone. '-don't do anything silly tonight, you don't want to embarrass me do you?' Persephone frowned at her mother but her father had merely chuckled at his wife's words._

'_Deme, sweetheart.. Persie isn't a kid anymore and I'm sure she'll behave responsibly..' Iason had then winked at his daughter. '-won't you angel?'_

'_Of course daddy..' Persephone had responded beaming in the girly fashion that charmed anybody into thinking she was a sweet and innocent little girl. Then she swung around and dashed off into the crowd of gods before her mother could stop her, smiling as she heard her mother's voice.._

'_Iason, why do you always have to undermine me..'_

_The night had gone pretty well, she had hung out with her brother Bacchus and his friends… the pink-skinned god slipped goblets of booze to her when their mother wasn't looking… then once the young goddess had had quite enough of her brother and his inebriated friends she ditched them, drunkenly debating about who would have more luck bedding Aphrodite, telling them she needed to get some air.. The young goddess had then found herself a quite spot and perched herself on the cloud edge enjoying the fresh night air.._

_She hadn't been sat their very long when the sound of quarrelling hit her eardrums.. Hera and Zeus were arguing again, this time it was about an affair Zeus had had on Crete about twenty years previously that had somehow comeback to bite him on the butt… Persephone had shook her head.. it was rotten timing too, right after Hera had turned some Egyptian girl he'd been sleeping with into a cow.._

_Curiously Persephone moved away from the edge of the cloud, a move she would always regret later, and she hid herself behind the nearest pillar and peeped out to the arguing deities in front of her… she couldn't remember their exact words but Hera had been shrieking about his betrayal and how she couldn't trust him again.. Zeus was yelling too, something about how Hera was being ridiculous it was just a moment of weakness… then Hera turned around and a cloudy door manifested in front of her. Zeus yelled at her not to turn away when he was talking to her… Hera paused but then continued towards her cloudy bedroom door… Zeus pulled out a brilliantly gleaming thunderbolt and aimed it towards his wife's back… his hand quivered as he gazed at his beloved Hera's back.._

The next part would run back in Persephone's mind in super-slow-motion for the next sixty-nine years…

_Zeus frowned annoyed with himself.. he couldn't do it, he just didn't have the heart to strike his beloved goddess down. He watched her as Hera slipped through the cloudy door in a huff… Zeus then irritably threw his thunderbolt in the opposite direction. Teenage Persephone's green eyes watched the thunderbolt hurtle down the hallway towards the party in the coliseum that was still going strong… then a loud crack caused the teen goddess' eyes to widen in anguish as her father fell to the ground.. Zeus' face swivelled around in horror towards the scene as Demeter was staring dumb-struck at her husband's lifeless body… then a blood-curling scream sounded. It took the teen goddess a few moments to realise the scream had issued from her own mouth, it made everybody in the coliseum aware of her presence.. The next thing she knew Hestia was leading her away down the hallway as teen Persephone was crying and screaming hysterically for her father… and her mother only watched her leave.._

Persephone felt Hades pulled her into a tight embrace as a tear slid down her cheek.

'It's alright.. I gotcha..' He murmured gently as Persephone buried her head in his neck inhaling his aftershave as it soothed her. After a moment the young goddess gave a shuddering breath then lifted her head slowly gazing at him through wide green eyes.

'Y'know..' Hades crooned softly moving a loose curl of blonde hair back with the rest. '-your not the only one here who's watched someone they care about die..' The goddess in his arms merely blinked at him vacantly, not following. Hades sighed heavily before flashing her a grim smile.

'I never told ya how Leuce died did I?' He uttered softly and Persephone shook her blonde hair. Hades took a deep breath. 'Walk with me babe..' He sounded seriously and the two gods began to walk slowly..

'Well.. remember how I told ya that I wasn't affected by her death?' Persephone nodded and Hades added. 'I lied..'

'What?' Persephone gasped in shock looking surprised.

'Yeh..' Hades sounded sympathetically. '-we'd been going steady for a few months and she wanted to see the Underworld, I tried to talk her out of it but she was so insistent on comin' down so I relented…' The fiery god paused thoughtfully as his young wife blinked in amazement.

'What happened sweetie..' She sounded softly sliding her hand up and down his forearm gently. Hades smiled slightly at her before his expression returned sombre.

'At first everything was fine but soon the Underworld atmosphere was really starting to make her ill, I tried to convince her to go home but Leuce was stubborn… heh, she always was a wilful little minx.. anyway, by the graveyard shift Leuce was fadin' fast.. nymphs just don't belong down here..' Hades shook his head heavily.

'Oh, and of course… nymphs don't _exactly_ have souls..' Persephone sounded, remembering what she'd been taught about nature spirits. They always returned to the body of Gaia, from which they came..

'Yeh..' Hades sighed. '-hence the tree, white poplars were her favourites..' Persephone smiled sadly at him. '-but hey!' The fiery god suddenly snapped out of his mourning and flashed his wife one of his usual cheery smirks. 'Ba-boom, enough about me, I'm over it.. Leuce was a nice chick but it wasn't meant to be so whadda ya gonna do..' He then lent into Persephone and purred. '-besides, I sure ain't kvetchin' on how things turned out now..' His eyes narrowed in pleasure at the peachy blush that flushed his wife's cheeks.

'So c'mon babe whatta ya say..' Hades sounded nudging the young Goddess of Life with his hip. '-ya wanna give dear old daddy another shot?' The fiery god gestured over towards Iason and Persephone sighed.

'I suppose.. I mean there are some things I need to know..' She sounded heavily before turning her green eyes back to her husband looking nervous. 'Your coming with me, right?' Hades smiled back reassuringly, gripping her tiny lilac-tinted fingers in his large bluish-grey hand.

'I'm with ya all the way babe..' His voice was low and soothing causing Persephone to beam at him agreeably and the two deities headed over to the clump of trees where her ghostly father was.

* * *

Hades felt his wife's tiny fingers squeeze his hand a little nervously as they approached the pale white-skinned soul of Iason. The fiery god was starting to feel slightly apprehensive too, after all this soul was his father-in-law. Since his wife had obviously been a complete Daddy's Girl during his life her father's opinion of him was bound to be vital.. Hades however restrained his nerves, his wife needed him to be strong for her..

As they drew level with Iason Hades gazed at the soul thoughtfully, studying him.. It was obvious that Persephone was related to this guy, anybody could see it. The seven foot hunk of a demi-god shared his daughter's pearly white skin tone, as well as a habit of basking in the shade. The soul's eyes were closed but his chiselled square jaw, long straight nose and sandy coloured hair gave away that he had been incredibly handsome during his life, and like the fiery god he was well-built but not overly so… it left Hades with a slight inferiority complex. Next to him this guy was freakin' stunning and, knowing Demeter's taste in blokes, he probably had a heart of gold to match..

Hades' eyes narrowed enviously… Great, like he didn't have image hang-ups already…

'Well..' Persephone whispered, nudging her husband and rousing him from his mental self-criticism.. '-say something to him..' She prompted him when Hades' golden orbs swivelled around to her.

'Like what?' Hades responded in a hiss.

'I dunno, but we can't just stand here gawking at him, it's rude..'

'I might be dead but I'm not deaf..' A third voice made both deities jump in shock as their startled gold and green eyes revolved round to the soul who had spoken. Iason suddenly sat up smirking at the fiery god, who didn't fail to notice his insanely green eyes.. his daughter's eyes..

'Hades..' Iason drawled in his usual pleasantly smooth tone complete with dazzling grin, deliberately dismissing his daughter for the moment.. 'I should've realised this change in management had something to do with you..'

'Me?' Hades blinked confused. 'Nuh, no, no, no… Iason babe, your barkin' at the wrong head of Cerberus buddy I never-' Persephone's father waved off Hades' words with a smile before continuing cheerily..

'Y'know I don't recall ever seeing you on Mount Olympus..' Iason mused rubbing his chin. 'How is it you and I never had the pleasure of meeting before?' Hades actually sighed heavily at these words.

'Heh, _that _is a long story my friend..' Hades drawled dismissively before flashing the soul a large wide-fanged smirk. 'So, I hear ya got married to Demeter? How'd that work out for ya?'

Persephone, who'd been pleased that her husband and father were getting along suddenly slapped her face with exasperation at Hades' words… was that meant to be a joke?

Iason blinked unsure whether the fiery Lord of the Dead was being serious or if his remark was meant to be some really bad attempt at humour.. Either way he chose not to answer it and turned to the goddess who was shyly trying to hide behind Hades' large baggy chiton.

'Persie..' Iason's low voice made the young goddess peer out from behind her husband towards her kindly smiling father. '-it's nice to see you again angelface..'

'Uh..' Persephone flushed nervously. '-hi daddy..' She smiled and waved unsurely at him. Hades side-stepped out of the way so Iason could get a proper look at his child, he also made a mental note never to call his wife 'angelface'… sounded like a pet name for 'daddy's little pookie'..

Now with a clear view of his daughter Iason took in her dramatically different appearance. She had changed a lot since his time on Gaia.. The first thing he noticed was how much older she looked now. When he'd died she looked a little over twelve but he was pleased to see that she now looked in her late teens. He then noticed the physical changes in her appearance, such as the loss of her bright lilac tan and her new-found interest in gloomy black chitons and grey eye-shadow. Then of course, somewhere down the line she had developed a romantic-relationship with Hades, that was obvious even to a dead guy… Personally Iason wasn't too bothered about this, it was evident from the way the fiery god was looking at his only child that he cared a great deal about her. The dead soul refrained from smirking as he tried to imagine the look of horror on his wife's face when she had found this out… Demeter would have had a fit.

Persephone fidgeted nervously, she'd always hoped that some way, some how she could see her father again… even if it was only once just so she could truly understand why he'd died. Now, at long last, the Fates had granted her greatest wish and the only thing the young goddess could do was stare at her long lost parent..

As father and daughter seemed to gaze at each other in silence Hades began to feel out of place… greeting the dead he could do, torturing the dammed he could live with, but sentimental reunions with dead relatives was something the hot-headed Lord of the Dead was not used to dealing with and he was unsure what to do.. The god was lent against a tree, his large yellow orbs rolling between his wife and father-in-law wondering who was going to break this silence first..

Finally after a few moments of mindless gawping Persephone spoke..

'Why did you have to die..' Her small voice almost broke as her heart filled with sadness, tears threatening to prick her eyes again..

Hades resisted the urge to comfort his wife, this was definitely something she needed from her father… and Iason responded instantly, taking his daughter's hand and pulling her down to the grassy Elysian floor so she was now level with him.. Persephone had been shocked when her father gently took hold of her wrist. She hadn't been expecting him to be able to touch her so solidly, she'd had contact with souls before but their touch was feather-like and almost frail, but she did not resist as her father guided her down to sit on the floor next to him.

'Persie..' Iason sounded soothingly running his fingers through her hair, just as he had done so many times during her childhood when she was upset. '-I never chose to go angel, it was my time..' The young goddess sighed heavily before turning her large green eyes to his.

'But why?' She sounded gently, needing closure.

'Because that's what the Fates dealt me..' Iason replied and Persephone blinked at him then opened her mouth to speak but her husband's soft voice forestalled her.

'C'mon Seph..' The goddess whipped around. '-ya know as well as I do ya can't argue with those old broads.. when your time's up, boom.. that's it..' Hades smiled grimly at her before Persephone sighed heavily and turned back.

'I guess..' She sounded. '-but it doesn't seem fair..'

'Your right sweetheart..' Iason sighed heavily. '-it wasn't fair to you but I've accepted my fate.. It was my destiny to help bring you into the world..' He smiled at her before nudging his mournful looking daughter. '-and we had some fun times didn't we angelface, huh?'

Persephone giggled, remembering the fond times she'd shared with her father when he'd been alive..

'Yeh..' She drawled smiling slightly. '-but it doesn't make the pain go away..' Iason frowned a little now.

'You know..' He sounded taking her fingers. '-only you can do that..'

'How..?' Persephone blinked confused.

'By letting go of me angel..' Iason sounded heavily. '-accept that my death was just meant to be..' He smiled tenderly at his daughter as tears rolled down her cheeks. Persephone sniffed, closing her eyes and wiping her tears away. She sighed heavily knowing that he was right, she had to let go of the anger and grief that had been walled up inside her… his death was nobodies fault. He'd done what he was meant to do, bring her into existence… the Fates could have ended his life when she was born but they didn't, they gave him an extra fifty years so he could see her grow up. But in the end it was his time to go…

Hades watched his wife intently as she sat there, a slight frown on her face with her hands in her father's wrestling with whatever walls she had built up ever since her father's death. A small smile curled his full blue lips as Persephone sighed heavily then opened her eyes…

'Now there's one last thing I need you to do Persie..' Iason sounded softly causing his daughter to blink confused.

'What's that?' She asked confused.

'Well..' Iason sounded letting go of his daughter. '-word on the fields is that there's a new boss who's offering a chance of rebirth..' Persephone blinked as Hades, who was still watching over them, sighed knowing exactly where Iason was going with this..

The Goddess of Life arched a brow, she too suspected where her father was going with his words.

'Yes… but why do you want to leave?'

'Yeh..' Hades chimed in causing his father-in-law to look up at him. '-I mean I certainly don't mind if ya wanna stick around for a little while longer..'

The spirit of Iason smiled at his son-in-law's words..

'You're an honourable god Hades but no..' Iason shook his head as the fiery god blinked stunned at his words, not something he was used to being called.. The spirit carried on... '-I've hung around this realm long enough..'

'But dad-' Persephone started to object and Iason smiled at her.

'Persie, for seven decades I've wanted to catch a glimpse of you, to know that you are alright… but you can't cling on to me forever angel, you have your own destiny to live and how can you move forward if your always looking back?'

Persephone opened her mouth to argue but couldn't find anything to say so she closed it sighing… her father was right, she knew it, she had to let him go..

'Ok..' She sounded sadly gazing at her father before laying a palm flat as a small vial of Lethe water appeared out of a swirl of orbs. '-you'll need to drink this and close your eyes..' She sighed passing him the vial. Iason accepted it then turned to Hades.

'Take care of her..' He sounded to the fiery god who smirked then tapped his head in a brief saluting gesture.

'Will do daddy-o..' He sounded in faint amusement and Iason downed the contents of the vial. Persephone then raised a hand, curling her fingers into a fist in the same manner she would when going to implode something. Closing her own eyes the goddess concentrated on the life-force of her father, at the same moment her fingers seemed to glow star-white…

The next moment her fingers flew apart as the goddess opened her eyes, seeing the soul of her father shatter into dozens of white orbs that swirled before shooting upwards and vanishing into the artificial blue sky of Elysium.

'Have a nice life daddy..' She sounded softly wiping a tear from her eye..

'Hey..' Hades' voice purred softly in her ear. '-ya gonna be ok babe?' Persephone sighed turning away from the blue sky and wrapping her arms around her husband's shoulders… she smiled at him for a long moment then kissed him right on his lips..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya Peeps… I just added a new 'Underworld Sayings_'_ section to my profile featuring some of my very own made up sayings that are used in my stories (plus a explanation on there origins)… feel free to suggest any of your own and if I like them I'll use them in my fics ;P.._

_Wow, this chapter went on a little bit longer than I originally intended it to, mostly because I wanted to show the actual details of both Iason and Leuce's deaths… and how it affected both deities…_

_I promise the next chapter will be getting right back to the storyline…_

_See ya soon…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy xXx_

_P.S… A little update on my poll 'Who is your favourite out of Hades' imps?'… despite the abysmally low count Panic is kicking ass! ..Wow, I actually feel bad for Pain… Please keep voting as the results will be revealed at the end of D.H.L… thanks X_


	9. The Fiery God's Conundrum,,

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up… This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

_Finally, please vote on the poll in my profile or you'll make the imps cry… _

_**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**_

_**Chapter Nine:**__**The Fiery God's Conundrum…**_

Things had been relatively quiet for the Queen of the Night as she kept her wolves on the Underworld pair, more for updates on their situation as she had enough information on them both… As the twin wolves flew into the grotto Hecate looked up from the scroll she had been musing over..

'Is she?' The witch sounded in a hinted tone and both wolves shook their head, Hecate rolled her slivery eyes with a disgruntled groan and immersed herself back in her reading..

'How long does it take to knock up a goddess?' The wolf on the right wondered aloud.

'How should I know..' His brother rolled his long yellow eyes. '-but you'd think they'd be expecting by now, I mean it has been five months since they started trying..' He nodded pensively before turning to Hecate as a worrying thought popped into his head..

'So what happens if Hades and his wife don't conceive?'

'They will..' Hecate sounded from behind her scroll.

'How do you know?' The first wolf asked causing Hecate to growl with frustration then wrench down the scroll and glare at her minions.

'Because _idiot.. _Persephone is the Goddess of Life, bringing in new life is what she does..' Hecate then sighed and softened continuing in a tone of amusement. '-besides, that obnoxious twit is so stubborn, she won't quit until she has her bouncing baby brat..' Hecate grinned at them as both wolves made sounds of understanding. She then frowned at them for disturbing her reading time..

'Now why don't you flea-ridden morons go find something _useful_ to do and _leave me alone!_' She screeched the last part and both wolves instantly disappeared leaving their mistress to her thoughts..

The Harvest Festival was almost upon them and Persephone _still_ wasn't pregnant… No other god in history had ever had a problem with conceiving. In fact, most of them got kids before they were even ready for them or when they didn't even _want_ them, like in her case.. she hadn't seen her daughter Scylla in centuries.. When her baby girl had been born Hecate, being the oh-so-parental-type she was, had tossed her into the sea where she had later learned a sea-dweller named Keto had adopted her.. She had also learned that Scylla had become quite a terror to ships in the seas, so much so that it had earned her a place in Poseidon's heart and she had since become a firm favourite of his.. Not that Hecate cared, the witch had no desire to be reunited with her estranged daughter and the feeling would probably be mutual if Scylla ever discovered the truth..

Over the long summer the witch had began working on a scheme to seize the Underworld but there was one enormous snag… the Underworld had been hard to get when it was just Hades at the throne, now there was that air-headed goddess to deal with as well. So how was she supposed to snatch the Underworld out from under two gods instead of one?

That was where Persephone's pregnancy came in… Hecate knew that her only chance of gaining Underworld supremacy was going to hinge on the young queen being with child. Pregnant goddesses were extremely vulnerable.. their powers wouldn't function properly due to the energy required to sustain a baby, and if she waited until the third trimester when shifting around would be very tiring with a baby bump, Persephone would make an easy target for someone to overpower her… say, someone like Hecate..

The main problem with this was Hades.. The witch was betting by that stage in Persephone's pregnancy the fiery god was going to be extremely protective of his wife… Hecate hadn't yet figured out how to separate the Lord of the Underworld from his queen but it did not matter for now, she could figure out the particulars once the basic plan was ready.. And since the Underworld pair still hadn't conceived yet, she had plenty of time to prepare…

* * *

Persephone stirred, pulling herself out of the lands of Morpheus and slowly opened her eyes, taking in the familiar dark surroundings of her large bedroom suite. She didn't need a sundial to know that it was really late in the morning, but rather than be worried the young goddess snuggled down further into the warm depths of the massive bed she shared with her husband.. Persephone hummed contented and closed her eyes with a small smile curling her lips. There was no need to get up in a hurry this morning…

It was the first day of autumn which meant that she didn't have to worry about orbing back and forth from the Underworld to the surface every so often just to avoid being caught out by Zeus… all that sneaking around had been very stressful.. but at least now she didn't have to worry about her surface duties for another six months.. and with most of the souls now catalogued and added to the Underworld records, the Elysian Fields was finally finding some order after only Zeus knew how long..

With absolutely no other work to do the imps had been helping the girls out just to stop themselves from succumbing to boredom. Although Persephone was appreciative for the extra help she found the silly little minion-rivalry that the Sirens and imps had going between each other very aggravating, she soon tired of trying to break up the many petty squabbles between the five of them and decided to leave them to it.. they really needed to start learning to live with each other.

Persephone had been resting with her eyes shut enjoying the luxury of a lazy lie-in when a soft sleepy moan came from behind her.. The goddess to snapped open her eyes and blinked stunned… then slowly a muscled blue arm wrapped itself around her middle and Persephone felt herself being pulled into the sluggish embrace of her husband..

Hades mumbled something indistinct before a slight smile curved his lips… Persephone smiled at this, remembering how her husband had once told her that he slept better when he knew she was with him.

The fiery god had been spending a lot of time with her in the Elysian Fields over the summer, but he certainly hadn't been helping to lighten the workload.. Oh no, when Hades wasn't trying to persuade his young wife into bunking off for the a little 'schnookie' he spent most of his time lounging around donning a pair of shades, supping iced nectar and eyeing Persephone with a serpentine leer. He'd even tried out a few of the facial-treatments that the Elysium Spa had to offer, not that he'd ever admit to enjoy getting pampered, he didn't want any of the gods on Olympus thinking that he'd gone all fruity… Still, all these skin treatments had worked wonders on his complexion and all his time spent in the sunny realm had given him a healthy blue tan… He was bound to get some looks when they both showed up for the Harvest Festival that evening..

Then Persephone's smile dropped slightly, she had hoped that by this harvest she'd have been sporting a baby bump.. but they'd been trying for five months now and the young queen was still not pregnant.

Persephone was starting to wonder what was wrong with them.. After all, everybody else just seemed to get pregnant at the drop of a chiton pin but for some reason the two of them just couldn't conceive. It was ridiculous, she was the Goddess of Life! If any deity could create a new baby she could! At first she wondered if it was because of the Underworld atmosphere but Persephone quickly dismissed that, reminding herself that Nyx and Erebus had lived in this gloomy abyss and managed to raise a whole brood of children. She then began to wonder if the problem lay a little closer to home..

The young Queen of the Underworld let out a deep sigh..

Hades, who'd been dozing beside her, suddenly winked one eye open at his wife's heavy exhale then blinked confused at the dissatisfied noise..

'Mmm, somethin' wrong babe..' The fiery god stretched slightly only briefly letting go of his wife. Persephone's eyes downcast for a moment as she mused on how best to answer, then decided it was pointless to pretend everything was peachy… her husband would see right through it anyway.

'I dunno..' Persephone tailed off and Hades lifted himself slightly so he was now a leaning above her head. '-I always figured that by this point I might be.. _y'know_-' The goddess rolled over onto her back so she could look her husband in the eyes. '-a little more.. _pregnant_.'

This time Hades sighed heavily with a look of remorse towards his wife's flat stomach. He too had been losing a little hope as the months passed by and yet there was still no baby..

'Yeh…' Hades drawled, finally returning his eyes to Persephone's. '-we never seem to get it easy unlike-' The fiery god gestured briefly to the ceiling with a very brief scowl. '-those guys, huh?'

'Hmmm..' Persephone made an agreeable noise and smiled at her husband in his long navy night-chiton held together by two skull pins. He seemed quite far away, lost in his own thoughts about their whole baby situation..

'Hades..' The young goddess sounded a little anxiously, drawing him back to her. '-do you think it's possible that you might be..' She tailed off again biting her lip before finishing in a small voice. '-_sterile_?' The effect of this last word on Hades was instantaneous, the fiery god frowned and sat up before suddenly heaving a sigh..

'I was startin' to wonder that myself..' His tone was low with a slightly glum edge to it. Persephone blinked surprised by his slightly defeated attitude. She then sat up, keeping herself covered by the black bed-sheet, and stroked his cheek with her hand.

'Hey, it's not the end sweetie-' Persephone sounded softly. '-maybe we could ask my mother for advice when we go to the Harvest Festival later..' Hades blinked, he'd almost forgotten about Demeter's do on Olympus..

'You really think she can help?' The fiery god sounded raising one brow sceptically, unsure if he really wanted his mother-in-law to know about their bedroom antics..

'Hey, she is the Goddess of Nature..' Persephone shrugged carelessly. '-what harm could it do?'

* * *

Hades sighed heavily as he glanced around the god-infested cloud. Same old same old… nothing was ever going to change up here. There seemed to be an awful lot of gods up on the big cloud, but that was no surprise. Demeter's Harvest Festival was the biggest celebration of the year and anyone who was any kind of god was always at these events. Sometimes even members from different pantheons were present.. Today Loki, a Norse trickster god and friend of Bacchus, was present drinking and laughing with the God of Parties and his immature mates. This was the only celebration that Hades and his wife were actually happy to attend. Mostly because Demeter always made sure that they both received due credit for the parts they played in helping her. In truth Hades didn't feel like he did much but it was still nice of Demeter to include him..

Thankfully they had missed Zeus' boring speech by arriving slightly late, as usual… this was because as today was also their wedding anniversary they always lost track of time.. Hades was now slouching idly at the back avoiding the main celebrations, the less social contact with the others the better.. He was also alone as his wife had disappeared into the crowd to go search for her mother. He wasn't alone for long as Hermes, who had been floating about, meeting greeting and trying to avoid the temptation of hanging out with Bacchus and his rowdy bunch, appeared beside him beaming..

'Hey Hades..' The tiny blue Messenger God sounded cheerfully. '-nice tan buddy, all that time in Elysium has been good for ya..' Hades flashed a smirk at Hermes, he had grown used to his wife's best friend dropping into the Underworld on and off… they'd often joked about renting a room to Hermes if he spent anymore time down there..

'Thanks..' Hades sounded flashing the tiny blue god beside him a wide-fanged smirk. Hermes blinked stunned by the whiteness of the grin.

'Holy mother of Zeus Hades..' He gawped in disbelief. '-did you bleach your fangs?' The Messenger God smirked amused, he never had Hades down for all that male grooming business.

'The wife's idea..' Hades shrugged nonchalantly.. Hermes made a noise of understanding.

'Well it suits ya..' He smiled at his best friend's husband before adding. '-So, uh.. How's things comin' on with you and Seph?' Hades sighed, knowing he meant the baby-making.. Hermes, like Demeter had agreed not to say anything about their baby plans..

'It's not..' Hades sounded moodily with a slight frown.. He couldn't believe that living in the Underworld for so long might actually have damaged his chances of becoming a father..

Hermes blinked as Hades' expression changed briefly..

'Oh, sorry to hear that man..' The tiny blue looked concerned. '-what you guys gonna do?'

'Seph's gonna speak to Demeter..' The fiery god sounded conversationally, trying not to let his shortfall get to him.

'Good thinkin', she'll know just what to do..' Hermes glanced at his sundial and sighed. 'Ooh... yikes, I gotta fly big guy, Zeus has me workin' overtime..' He then zipped off with a cheerful '-catcha later..' and Hades resumed his usual heavy-lidded bored slouching, waiting for his wife to return so they could leave..

* * *

Persephone wandered through the crowds looking for the familiar large green form of her mother. The Queen of the Underworld passed many gods on the way passed but very few of them acknowledged her. She then caught sight of her brother laughing and looking with his friends Apollo, Cupid, Ares and Loki.. deciding to try and save time looking Persephone headed over to the group to ask her brother if he'd seen their mother..

'Hey sis..' Bacchus slurred as his sister approached him and his mates. '-how bout a drink?' He slopped half the contents of his glass as he offered it to her.

'Yo Seph..' Loki sounded from the other side and Persephone turned to the blonde purple god. '-your lookin' hot..' The Goddess of Life threw him a withering look..

'Shoosh..' Cupid snickered amused as Apollo and Ares smirked into their goblets. '-you don't want Hades to flame you..'

'Yeh..' Ares sounded. '-it hurts, believe me..'

'When were you on the receiving end of Hades' wrath?' Apollo chortled amused. Ares suddenly went into one of his drunken little stories and Persephone turned to her brother..

'Baccs have you seen mother?'

'No..' He shook his head. '-but if you see Ma tell her I've got a hot date lined up for her..' All the gods around the table all suddenly burst into laughter.

'With who?' Persephone frowned suspiciously.

'With Seilenous..' He snickered amused and his mates laughed harder at this. Persephone didn't, she frowned at him annoyed.

'No way, that drunken old satyr can barely stand up..' She snapped crossly. '-besides, mother doesn't even like him-'

'Oh I can fix that..' Cupid sounded slyly waving a love arrow around.

'Don't you even dare..' Persephone fumed before whirling around irritably and leaving the group of gods laughing in hysterics..

The Queen of the Underworld fumed as she stormed away from her brother and his stupid mates, she wasn't looking where she was going and almost ran into Aphrodite.

'Whoopsie..' She trilled giggling, a goblet of nectar in one hand the other arm propping little Eris up. 'Heya Seph, ooh your looking tense.. everything ok?' She sounded noticing the annoyed look on Persephone's face. Eris' big blue eyes lit up at the sight of her and the red-skinned girl beamed uttering something indistinct that sounded like, 'Bah-bah-boo.'

'Huh, oh sure.. just Bacchus and the boys being idiots as usual..'

'Oh, what a surprise..' The pink-skinned Goddess of Love sounded with a dismissive drawl. '-are they still threatening to set Demeter up with that pervy old satyr?'

'Heya Eris..' Persephone cooed to the tiny goddess in her mother's arm. 'Your getting so big..' She then sighed in response to Aphrodite's words.

'Yeh..' Persephone shook her head heavily.

'Don't worry, I think it's just drunk talk but I'll make sure they don't _actually_ do it.' She rolled her own blue eyes expressively at this.

'Oh what a cute little outfit.' Persephone sounded admiring Eris' tiny lavender chiton.

'Thanks..' Aphrodite sounded cheerfully. '-you have no idea how long it took me to find a colour that looked ok against her red skin. How's things with Hades..'

'Eh, so-so..' Persephone sounded before adding. '-you haven't seen my mother have you?' Aphrodite who had been taking a swig of her nectar made a positive sound and swallowed her mouthful.

'Oh sure, she's over there with Po-Po and Amphitrite..' She replied as Harmonia appeared out of the crowd dragging Cadmus with her. 'Uh, there you are..' Aphrodite sounded slightly annoyed to her daughter. '-here, take your sister I need to go see what's keeping Heph..' She then thrust Eris into the arms of her older sister, waved goodbye to Persephone and disappeared.

As Persephone disappeared into the direction of her mother she heard Cadmus' relieved comment,

'Well at least she doesn't have her apple on her today..' The Goddess of Life smirked amused… it seemed Eris had been causing trouble with Hades' gift already. Her smiled then widened as she caught sight of her mother… finally, she was getting somewhere..

* * *

A groan of dismay escaped Hades as his golden eyes spotted the familiar red-haired, blue-eyed youngest son of Hera and Zeus: Hercules. The fiery god rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief… _Sheesh, they really did just let any old schlub into these things now…_ Clinging to the young hero's arm and swaying slightly was his ex-minion Meg… Hades blinked. It was the first time he'd really seen her after what happened down in the Underworld just over six years ago. She looked well, apart from the fact that she was clearly tipsy, probably due to nerves… _poor kid.._ being trapped in a room full of gods was bound to be intimidating, especially since everybody would probably want to gawp at Hercules' bride..

Hermes had informed the two gods about their nephew's wedding only a few weeks before, this was due to Bolt Boy's insistence that the Rulers of the Underworld remain uninformed until after the wedding, he wanted no hitches for his son's big day. Anybody who disobeyed would get several thunderbolts shoved up an unmentionable orifice.. But Hades didn't care about his vendetta against Hercules anymore… he still despised the hero, nothing would ever change that… but he was past any notion of revenge. Besides, with Persephone and his job he really didn't have time to waste on that jerk anyway..

The next second Harmonia and her dragon-slaying-loser-boyfriend appeared out of the crowd. Hades rolled his eyes again… _Oy vey, what in Tartarus was this? The 'Heroes 'R' Us convention?_… Hercules and Cadmus were acting very chummy indeed while a drunken Meg was cooing over baby Eris who, in Hades' opinion, looked as though she wanted to be as far away from the heroes as possible… The tiny red-skinned godling was clinging to her big sister acting very shy indeed, burying her blonde head into Harmonia's loose white chiton, which was pinned with a gold and silver ying-yang chiton pin.

Hercules turned and catching sight of his fiery uncle he waved cheerfully.. clearly not holding a grudge against him… Hades didn't really care why but scowled, irritated by this idiot's moronic grin and merry wave. The fiery god smirked sarcastically and did a mocking wave back before uttering in a sneering drawl through his bright, pearly, gritted fangs..

'Yehh.. nice to see ya to..' His smile vanished as Hercules turned away. '-_jerk_..'

* * *

'Persephone..' Demeter trilled happily at the sight of her daughter, Poseidon and Amphitrite had both moved on to converse with Athena who was letting her pet owl drink from her goblet of nectar. '-where's Hades?' She looked around as though expecting him to appear out of nowhere.

'He's probably over at the buffet table, glaring at your salads again..' Persephone sounded with a smirk remembering the expression on Hades' face at the sight of the food options last year.. He had been looking at them all as if they'd all escaped from Pandora's box and were now carrying some nasty disease.

'Oh that god..' Demeter mock-groaned shaking her head. '-it's not like a salad is going to kill him..'

'Heh, let's not give him any ideas..' Persephone rolled her eyes… the last thing she needed was Hades to release some new virus… and considering he still hadn't tried out his Proserpina plague, now wasn't the time to tempt him with ideas..

'So..' Demeter linked arms with her daughter cheerfully. '-how's the baby coming?' She added keenly, the Goddess of Nature was barely able to contain her excitement at the thought of becoming a grandmother… She'd wanted to be one for so long and there wasn't much point in banking on Bacchus to give her a grandchild as his relationship with Adriane had hit the rocks weeks after it had started... he just wasn't the settling down type..

'Yeh..' Persephone bit her lip. '-I need to talk to you about that..'

'Why?' The Goddess of Nature sounded, her face falling slightly.. 'What's wrong pumpkin..' She recognised the look of uncertainty on her daughter's eyes.

'Mother..' Her voice was small but serious. '-is it possible for a god to be sterile?'

Demeter blinked, definitely not what she'd been expecting..

'Well..' She spoke, furrowing her brow thinking. '-yes, I mean.. it is not unheard of sweetheart..' Persephone felt her heart grow heavy. '-but usually it's only present in the death-incarnate..' Demeter then frowned slightly confused. '-but Hades doesn't represent death.'

Persephone looked bemused.

'What?' She raised a brow. 'Mother, Hades represents the Underworld-' She started but Demeter waved her off chuckling amused by her daughter's ignorance..

'Cora dear.. Just because your husband rules the Underworld it doesn't make him death..' She smiled. '-besides as I recall, Hades is also known as the God of Wealth isn't he?'

'Well, yeh… I guess so..' Persephone sounded thoughtfully.

'And does that sound like a god who should be sterile?' The Goddess of Nature sounded with a small smile… The two had been slowly working their way around the floor to where Hades was stood..

'Tartarus no..' Persephone sounded smiling at her mother.

'Exactly..' Demeter sounded primly and smiled. '-which means the issue of fertility can be fixed..'

'It can?' Persephone sounded suddenly looking eager..

'Of course my darling..' Demeter chuckled again. '-your forgetting Nature Rule number six: Even the tiniest spark of life can be brought back..' The Nature Goddess then turned her eyes to her son-in-law who was glaring at the buffet with a disgusted expression at the selection of fresh salads. '-and I think we should start with what it is your husband eats..' Demeter narrowed her eyes looking sombre.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, yeh this is a long chapter I know but there were so many bits that I wanted to fit in and it just kept growing… don't get to used to it though it should be back to it's usual size for the next one.._

_I was pondering for ages on how to get Meg and Hercules back into the storyline… they're more like secondary characters in my story and even though they won't feature very often I will try my hardest to keep you updated on them when possible…_

_Ok, one little note on myth as there are several little mythical links in this chap for the keen mythologist to spot.. there is a huge debate on whether Hades and Persephone could have children at all… many believed that they were childless like death itself and that the Lord of the Underworld was sterile… if that's the case, what kind of God of Wealth can't produce children?… I'd also like to apologise for the length of time that it's taking Hades and Seph to conceive but this argument was such as big issue in Ancient Greece it seemed relevant to incorporate it in my story.._

_Don't forget to review peeps…_

_Lots of Love… Ditzy X_


	10. A brandnew 'Pomegranate' diet

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up… This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

_Finally, please vote on the poll in my profile or you'll make the imps cry… _

_**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**_

_**Chapter Ten:**__**A brand-new 'Pomegranate' diet **_

Demeter and Persephone had been whispering to each other in a very animated discussion all the way back to the Underworld and judging by they way they kept looking at Hades, the fiery god had a feeling that it was about something he wasn't going to like… and his suspicions turned out to be correct.

'_A diet?_' Hades sounded flabbergasted and slumped back in his throne, his rounded yellow eyes wide in shock.. After a moment to digest what had just been said to him Hades snapped out of his surprise and frowned at both the women in front of him. 'Whatta ya mean ya want me to go on a diet?' He sounded offended by this very suggestion. He then glanced down at his body, as if making sure he hadn't put on any weight, before his yellow eyes swivelled back to his wife and mother-in-law waiting for an explanation..

Persephone sighed, she just knew this was going to happen.. her husband was very sensitive about his own personal appearance and her mother hadn't got a chance to explain her theory before Hades jumped to the wrong conclusion..

'It's not that _kind_ of diet sweetie..' She sounded soothingly causing his eyes to scrutinize her, as if doubting her words.

'It's a diet to help boost your fertility..' Demeter added causing Hades to swivel back to his 'smother-in-law' and glare at her. '-we think that it's all that Underworld junk you gorge yourself on that's making you sterile..'

'Whoa, whoa, whoa..' Hades held up a hand and waved it impatiently. '-back up a chariot, _gorge myself.._' Hades sounded in disbelief then his flames flared yellow. 'Excuse me, I do not _gorge_ _myself_.. who do I look like to you? Bacchus?'

'Please Hades..' Persephone sounded beseechingly to her husband who was showing early signs of a flaming hissy fit. '-just hear her out..' Hades uttered something darkly under his breath before sighing as his flames returned to blue.

'_Fiine_..' Hades folded his arms petulantly and pouted at Demeter. The Goddess of Nature sighed heavily… he could be really immature at times.

'Look..' Demeter sounded. '-the diet is fairly simple to follow. Your just going to have to cut out all those nasty Underworld treats like worms, grubs and so forth and replace them with fruit, ok?'

'Oh Zeus just smite me now!' Hades groaned loudly in an exasperated tone… he knew it was going to be bad but you just couldn't prepare yourself. Then he paused from his glowering and looked curiously at the goddesses. 'Wait, what _kinda_ fruit?'

'Fruit that will boost your fertility of course..' Persephone giggled slightly amused, for being one of the smarter gods her husband was very slow on the uptake.. '-like pomegranates..'

Hades instantly stuck a finger to his mouth and made a gagging noise while pretending to vomit down the side of his throne. Persephone placed her hands on her hips and glared at this display.

'Oh don't give me that, you've never even _tried_ one!' She rolled her green eyes exasperated by her husband's lack of cooperation.

'Have so!' Hades instantly responded causing the goddess to raise a brow intrigued.

'When?' She asked him in a challenging tone.

'Well gee, I don't remember _when _exactly..' Hades rubbed his chin musingly. '-but I remember it was all pink and slimy and tasted really bitter-' He broke off before adding as he realised something. 'Oh wait.. that was a grapefruit..' Persephone sighed heavily, shaking her head with incredulity but decided not to say anything.

'Alright you two, I really should be going..' Demeter sounded, she hadn't been planning to stay long. '-I want to be fresh as a daisy for the festivities on Eleusis, will you two be making an appearance at some point?' She asked them causing the Underworld couple to share a look. The Eleusis annual harvest celebrations lasted a whole month.. They'd gone once, just to see what the festivities were like, but they had had enough after only a few days. It was nice to receive offerings but being constantly beseeched by whiney mortals had ruined it for the Underworld couple, it was much easier to remain incognito. Especially after the cringing events of last year during the annual play depicting, how mortals thought, Hades and Persephone meet and married…

* * *

'_That's not how it happened!' Hades' face was a brilliant shade of orange as he glared at the stage below. His outburst had actually managed to put the actors off their lines and many people from the audience were whispering and glancing at him._

'_Oh my days..' Persephone groaned, flushing bright peach with embarrassment and burying her head in her hands._

'_Hades will you sit down!' Demeter snapped. 'Your embarrassing your wife..'_

_No! I didn__'t come here to sit and listen to this.. this slander!' Hades roared at her before whipping back to the play in front of them. 'Alright, which one of you little schlubs is responsible for writing this tripe?' All the mortals and immortals present were staring at him now._

'_Hades..' Persephone moaned, still peach in the face. '-don't do this..'_

'_Yeh..' Hermes had sounded looking concerned. '-it's just a story man..'_

'_Just a story..' Hades repeated before flaring at Hermes. '-it's a blasphemous lie!'_

'_Oh stop being sucha big baby Hades..' Zeus' booming voice sounded from nearby where the Lord of Olympus and some of the other gods had been watching too._

'_Yeh..' Ares sounded from his spot between Athena and a pregnant Aphrodite. '-we've all got stories about us we don't like..'_

'_You stay out of this!' Hades roared before whipping back to the stage where the actors were squirming uncomfortably under the glare of the Lord of the Underworld. They had joined this play for many reasons but upsetting Hades had not been one of them._

'_I'll ask you all one last time 'kay..' The fiery god's voice was low and dangerous, his eyes narrowed into slits and his flames burning brutally. '-which one of you wrote this?'_

'_He did..' The actor playing the Lord of the Dead suddenly answered pointing slightly off stage to a man with a grey thinning hair and a grey beard holding a script._

'_You?' Hades sounded as he recognised the man. Homer, former editor of the Greekly World News turned poet and play-writer. 'Well what a freakin' surprise!' The fiery god sneered sarcastically.._

'_Hades..' Persephone hissed annoyed now. '-will you just sit down already!'_

'_Ina sec baby..' The fiery god sounded vaguely waving off her words. '-just let me deal with the yutz first..'_

'_No!' The young goddess snapped, having had enough of her husband's interruptions. She then grabbed him and forced her fiery other half down into his seat. Hades looked less than impressed by his wife's actions and glared at her as Demeter signalled for the play to continue. Before the fiery Lord of the Underworld could protest to his wife's actions Persephone flashed him a girly smirk.._

'_Just wait until he's dead… then deal with him..' She said sweetly and for a moment he was surprised before a depraved smirk appeared on his face.._

* * *

'I doubt it..' Persephone sounded, flashing her husband a glance as his expression seemed to agree with her words. '-things get busy down here pretty quickly..'

'Oh well..' Demeter sounded waving this off dismissively. '-if you get a spare moment feel free to join in the festivities, ok?' The looks she got off of her daughter and son-in-law suggested that there was very little chance of them showing up.

'Well hey, ya know what..' Hades drawled suddenly flashed her a wide smirk. '-if we get a free moment then we'll pop on over..' The fiery god sighed before adding. '-but I really wouldn't bank on it..' Demeter merely smiled kindly at them.

'Take care you two and good luck with the diet Hades..' Her large orange flower grew out of the floor of the throne room and the green-skinned goddess climbed aboard. 'Ta-ta darlings..' She waved them off with a cheery disposition as the petals closed and the flower disappeared into the ground.

Persephone flashed her mother a fake-cheery smile that vanished the instant she did and the young goddess sighed with a soft 'oy'… She sometimes wondered how in the name of Nyx she had managed to live with that sickly cheerful woman for over a hundred years..

'So…' Her fiery husband sounded in a long satisfied sigh waving his hand vaguely and a bowl of wriggling worms appeared on the armrest of his throne. Hades picked up one of the wriggling pink insects stretching it lazily. '-when exactly does this diet start?'

'It starts right about.. _now_..' Persephone flashed her husband a smirk before orbing both the bowl and the worm Hades was about to slurp out of sight. The goddess then smirked at the stunned look on her husband's face before pouting mischievously.

'But Sephykins..' Hades whined. '-it's our anniversary baby, can't it wait 'til tomorrow..'

Persephone raised an eyebrow at her husband's petulant expression.

'Mmm..' The goddess put a finger to her chin in mock-thought. '-no.'

Hades pouted at her words then he frowned as his wife giggled amused.

'Your lovin' this ain't ya..' He sounded in a low drawl..

'Oh come on sweetie..' Persephone sounded in a soft purring tone and crawling into his lap. Hades shifted his legs apart a little, balancing out the weight of his wife as her slim arms rested momentarily on his shoulders before she flicked a couple of stray golden strands out of her face.

'-it's not like you'll be on this diet for eternity..' She continued in the same soft purr. '-when you impregnate me you can go back to eating all the creepy crawlies you want..'

'You promise?' Hades flashed his wife a seductive smirk, raising his brows as his fingers ran over her hips.

'Mmm hmm..' Persephone nodded laying her palm flat as a plump, ripe pomegranate appeared out a swirl of orbs and a small knife appeared in the other. 'So, would you give this diet a shot Hades… for me?' She pouted in an adorable fashion. His smirk widened as a soft chuckle escaped his lips, Persephone was so cute when she pulled that face..

'Seph, Seph, Seph… my sweet little wifey of Lifey. Don'tcha know the answer already?' Persephone blinked for a moment stunned… before a small smile spread over her lips..

'You'll do it?' She asked, needing to hear it for herself.

'Duh..' Hades sounded in mock-stupidity. '-I'd do anything for you babe, ya should know that by now..'

'Oh good..' Persephone sounded sweetly then cut up the pomegranate into quarters, as the knife orbed out she began removing the bits if loose white husk that covered the crimson fruit. She flashed her husband another innocently-sweet girly smile and held out a quarter to him adding in the same light tone, '-then you can try a segment of this..' Hades bit back the grimace that was threatening to cross his face… he really, _really_ didn't want to try this freaky looking fruit but his darling little wifeykins was throwing him that look again… Hades felt like he was slowly being backed-up against a wall, then the fiery god took the fruit off of Persephone.

'Oh kay..' His voice almost broke as the fiery god sighed heavily in defeat, his yellow eyes rolled upwards and his shoulders sagged... How was this one tiny goddess able to twist his flames so easily?

Hades took one glance at the quarter of pomegranate in his hand and actually grimaced, his upper lip curling in disgust, why was his wife always getting him to try new things? It was going to be just like that the grapefruit he had once tried at her mother's house… _disgusting!_

Pinching his nose Hades raised the pomegranate to his lips and then shut his eyes tight ad took a large bite out of the crimson fruit. Instantly his mouth was bathed in sweetness and the fiery god's eyes snapped open in surprise as he slowly chewed, musing on how best to describe the strangely sweet sensation in his mouth. It was almost like if plums and strawberries could have offspring of their own.

Persephone had been watching him avidly as he took a bite out of her favourite fruit… she really wasn't sure how Hades would react as the fiery god could be incredibly selective about the kinds of food he ate. But the fact that her husband didn't look displeased as he swallowed the mouthful of fruit was a positive sign..

For a long moment Hades didn't say anything but his eyes swivelled thoughtfully from the pomegranate in his long blue fingers to his lightly tanned wife who was still perched on his knees flashing him a nervous smile.

'It's not without it's charm..' He finally uttered and Persephone smiled wider as he helped himself to another segment. The young goddess was pleased that he too liked this fruit.. Perhaps this diet wouldn't be quite as hard to implement as she first thought..

* * *

As the weeks passed in the Underworld Hades found the 'Pomegranate Diet' hard to stick to.. He was so used to just summoning himself a bowlful of whatever creepy crawlies took his fancy whenever he was in the mood for a snack that he sometimes forgot about the diet. As soon as he'd summon the bowl he'd remember about it and sigh heavily with a small ache of longing then the bowl would vanish in a puff of smoke..

If there was one thing Persephone admired most about her husband it was the fact that once Hades had a challenge set, he would not stop until he had seen it through to the bitter end.. Which meant that no matter how much the fiery god longed to suck down a single slimy worm.. he wouldn't..

It was funny really… when Persephone had first started expressing her desire for a baby Hades had originally only gone along with it just to please her. But now he was on this new diet to boost his fertility, he found the very thought of becoming a father the ideal way to motivate himself into sticking to his new eating habits..

Somewhere along the way, the fiery god had began to desire a baby too… and he would do anything to see this dream come true..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, I know it really seems like I'm churning out the chapters just now but I'm really getting into this story and once Persephone conceives… the story __really__ begins…_

_Y'know.. After doing a little back-reading of P.o.P I've come to the conclusion that Hades does a lot of whining! XD_

_Although personally that's when he's at his funniest, I just wondered if anyone else had noticed… anyway I hope you all like his little tiff with Homer.. Lol.._

_Ok, ok… a little bit on pomegranates now… in Ancient Greece, as well as being seen as a symbol of marriage they were also regarded as a symbol of fertility… hence why they are the main fruit in Hades' diet (as well as the fact that pomegranates appear in the original myth)…_

_See ya next time peeps… and keep the reviews coming as they mean so much to me.._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_

_P.S. A little note i forgot to put at the end of G.W.I... I once read an analogy someone had written on the tale of Persephone and they described her return to earth as being like when she was facing problems she would always go to her mother for help... I don't really remember the rest of it too well but that part always struck a cord with me and it became a part of my story..._

_Oh, and I'm sorry I haven't updated Disney Chat for a while... I haven't finished the chapter (because I have to be in the mood to write it or my writing sucks noodles)... I'm about halfway and I'm on holiday soon so hopefully it'll be ready to post soon..._


	11. Illnesses of A godly Nature

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Eleven:****Illnesses of a Godly Nature**

As winter arrived and the surface of Gaia slowly began to wither away business in the Underworld was booming… with a little help from the Proserpina plague of course. Who knew that a single virus could spread so rapidly and kill off mortals so easily. It's symptoms were ingenious, Persephone couldn't believe that this simple little virus had bloomed from the mind of her brilliant husband… and too think she had rejected it when he first presented it to her..

Nasty migraines, snotty nose, tickly cough and terrible shakes… it left the mortals weak and feverish. Then of course…the sharp-minded Hades had coupled this with the freezing cold of winter and those poor mortals were dropping off like leaves in autumn. The young Goddess of Life hated to admit it but she found the Proserpina plague very amusing… especially it's cure. Zeus' stupid little rule that every disease must have a cure certainly hadn't been forgotten by her flame-haired hubby. Oh no… after much thought Hades had come up with the most ingenious cure, it was so obvious that the active mortals of Ancient Greece would never think of it… bed rest!

But as business was on the up both Persephone and Hades found very little time to spend together. Even with five minions scurrying around trying to check-in the new souls while trying to stick to the labyrinth of red-tape that governed how souls went through the channels of Underworld beaurocracy, most of which had been around long before Hades had assumed command of the Realm of the Dead..

It had been just over two months since he had started the 'Pomegranate Diet' and after a shaky first few weeks the fiery god was starting to feel the benefits of his new regime. Apart from his boundless energy, which came in handy since the Underworld was heaving with new souls, Hades found himself in an inanely good mood despite the enormous workload which freaked out the imps… especially Panic who was suspicious of any form of change. The panicky green imp didn't like this new and improved Hades mostly because the fiery god started laughing amused every time he confronted him on it.

'Your not Hades!' The green imp had once bellowed at his boss. 'You're a guy in a mask!' The flame-haired deity had stared for a long moment in disbelief before bursting out into laughter.

'Oh my days Panic..' He had snickered. '-your hysterical, who would _want _to pretend to be me?' He then disappeared off still chuckling amused uttering, 'Hah, you imps crack me up..'

The other thing the fiery god had noticed was that his libido had never been so potent which made things difficult as his wife was in her winter phase. The young Queen of the Underworld was rarely in the mood during this time of year.. She'd always felt rather sluggish during the winter months and the long work hours meant that she had very little energy by bed-time, as a result any 'nocturnal-activities' were slow, lazy and almost always instigated by Hades. So the baby plans were officially on hold until further notice..

There was one good thing about the enormous workload in the Underworld, the Sirens and imps were far too busy to even think about squabbling between each other. For once the Realms of the Dead were peaceful and it gave the two rulers a break from having to endure the squabbling, showing what life could be like when the five of them just knuckled down and did some work for a change..

By February spring was almost upon them and things were starting to get back to normal in the Underworld, the souls were finally getting sorted into their destined afterlives, the imps and Sirens had once more resumed their petty power struggle and the two gods were preparing for the first birthday of Aphrodite's little daughter Eris.

It was hard to believe that that cute little bundle of mischief was already a year old. It seemed like only yesterday when the two of them had gone up to her Birth Celebration. Although Persephone decided that in light of the fuss that the golden apple had caused they wouldn't get her a toy this time, besides she would get plenty of toys from other deities… so Persephone had created a little lilac chiton for the young godling to wear before wrapping it up in some silvery wrapping paper. It was now sat on her dressing table along with her clothes for the party.

* * *

On the morning of Eris' first birthday Persephone woke up feeling strange leaping sensation in her stomach. The goddess groaned as her brows formed a slight frown and she rolled over trying to ignore her body. She wasn't ready to get up.. Her stomach then gave an uncomfortable lurch causing her eyes to snap open as she suddenly felt an unexpected sickly sensation wash over her. Unable to ignore it anymore Persephone sat up as a dizzy spell hit her causing the room to sway. Staggering out of bed the young goddess burst into the bathroom and bent over the sink gasping then retched, but nothing came up.

Hanging on to the edge of the sink Persephone slowly controlled her breathing and wiped away the tears that had formed. Sighing as her breath returned to normal the goddess splashed her face with water then turned to her reflection in the mirror above the sink..

She didn't look any different than usual…

'What's wrong with me?' Persephone uttered gazing at her mirror image glumly. The young goddess just couldn't understand why she was suddenly feeling so awful in the mornings… the dizziness and desire to throw up had been going on for the last few days. Persephone had been hesitant about telling Hades as she always felt better by the afternoon and she really didn't want him to start worrying about her for no reason… especially not today of all days.

As the young goddess laid her hand flat against her stomach she felt a curious sensation shoot up her arm like an electric shock, it was almost as if she could sense new life.. Persephone pulled her hand away in shock, unable to believe what she was feeling..

_It's just because spring has started_… the young Goddess of Life reasoned to herself turning away from the mirror and trying to brush off the swooping sensation as her stomach did another summersault. The young goddess then returned to the bedroom where her fiery other half was still asleep. She perched herself on the edge of the bed and admired his sweet little sleepy face with an adoring smile… he really was cute when he sucked his thumb like that. Persephone's large green eyes swivelled to her abandoned pillow on the other side…

…she really shouldn't…

A small smirk twisted across her cherry lips.

…but she'd never been good at resisting temptation…

The young goddess then snatched up the pillow with a glimmer of mischievous glee.

* * *

Persephone still felt a little sickly as she adjusted her strapless chiton into a more comfortable position before catching sight of her husband who had been watching her from behind.

'We don't have to do this y'know..' He sounded gently as his golden orbs flashed with concern.

'What?' Persephone's breath caught in her throat at Hades' words… Did he suspect?

'C'mon babe..' The fiery god's arms slipped around her waist and he began nuzzling her neck. '-let's just blow this party off, it's only her _first_ birthday..' His voice purred in her ear and Persephone let out a sigh of relief… which Hades mistook for pleasure and ran his fingers over her curves more persistently.

'Alright, cool your flames Hot-Stuff we are _not _bailing out on this..' She sounded wriggling out of his grip and turning back to the mirror, smirking at his sulky pout.

'Why not? It's not like Eris is gonna remember anyway..' Hades sounded in a discarding tone.

'But Aphrodite will..' Persephone sounded firmly before adding. '-and besides Hermes told me she's _finally_ picked out Eris' mentors..'

'Pfft.. so what?' Hades shrugged disinterested. 'It's not like she'd pick either of us to do it..' The fiery god smirked at the very idea of either one of them being chosen to help guide little Eris through life… they'd probably get her into trouble and that little madam didn't need any help in that department. She was only able to crawl and babble insistently but that little goddess was already getting good at being a nuisance..

'I know but I'm still curious to find out who she picked..' Persephone answered thinking of her own mentor Hestia and the kind of relationship they had. '-after all they will have massive impact on how Eris grows up.' The young goddess then returned to applying her cherry lipstick.

'Ok, ok..' Hades sounded waving off his wife's words. '-we'll go to the friggin' party..' He sighed heavily not wishing to hear any more about mentors. The fiery god then shook his head, rolling his large golden orbs expressively and muttered to himself. 'Yeesh, all the goddess' in the cosmos and I had to marry the one infected with _baby_ _fever_..'

'Did you say something sweetie?' Persephone asked pleasantly as she didn't quite catch what her husband had uttered. Hades flashed her a set of wide eyes… _Whoops!_

'Nothin' babe..' The fiery god sounded vaguely with an innocent little smirk. '- I was just makin' a mental note to talk to the minions before we go, I don't want to come home to find nothin' done because they spent all day _bickerin_' rather than _doin' their jobs!_' The fiery god flared a brief orange at the memory of last time the two of them had left the five of them alone..

'Oh, I know..' Persephone sighed heavily in agreement spritzing herself with her home-made perfume. '-but what can we do, they've gotta work this out between themselves..' The white-skinned goddess gave her reflection the once over before turning to her husband who seemed to be ogling her from behind again. He blinked as she caught him staring at her rear before flashing her a wining smirk.

'Don't worry Sephy..' He sounded smoothly rubbing her shoulders gently. '-I'm just gonna give them all a little _pep_-talk..' He winked before continuing. '-y'know remind them that they have a job to do and what's gonna happen to them if they don't do it _properly_..' Hades' smirk turned into a slightly sadistic leer.

'_Well_..' Persephone gave a low hum thinking it over, she knew her husband would probably go overboard and terrify all five minions senseless… he always did. 'I suppose it couldn't hurt..' She smiled sweetly, those idiots downstairs could use a shake up anyway..

* * *

A few moments later Hades and Persephone appeared in the board-room for the daily morning meet. The fiery Lord of the Underworld had taken his seat at the head of the table, his long blue index fingers joined together as he contemplated on how best to address both his own and his wife's minions. He knew his wife had a softer management style than himself so he didn't want to startle the Sirens by being too firm with them but on the other hand, if he wasn't firm enough the imps wouldn't take him seriously.

Both Pain and Panic looked tense while the Sirens merely looked expectant, neither set of minions knowing what to anticipate from their fiery ruler.

'Alright you five..' Hades finally spoke, lowering his fingers but still viewing them through a firm gaze. '-Seph and I understand that sharing duties must be difficult for you and that it's gonna take some time for you to get used to each other..' As the fiery god took a brief pause to collect his thoughts the two imps glared distrustfully at the Sirens, who merely made disrespectful faces at them in return. None of this was missed by the fiery god.

'_However_-' Hades added so firmly causing all five to jump and swivel back with worried expressions. '-I do not want another repeat of the last time we left you five alone..' He let the words spiral horribly around the table and a few guilty grimaces appeared. '-souls running loose, paperwork not filed correctly and, according to Charon, you five weren't seen by the Styx _all day_..' Persephone was about to interject a point but at the sight of her husband's yellowing flames she decided now wasn't the time… Hades was approaching full ranting mode fast.

'Now you all know, _you boys especially_-' He interjected flashing red furiously at the two imps who cowered with their heads barely above table level. Hades returned to blue '-I run one tight Tartarus and we have deadlines to keep people..' He punched the table before flaring again. '-this is a place of business so work comes _first_..' Hades ran his fingers through his yellow flames exasperated continuing. '-therefore all arguments are to be left until the work is _done_ ok? Let's try and act _professional_ here..' Hades then sighed heavily at the very thought as the minions were eyeing each other with disgust. '-or at least as professional as you idiots can be..' He uttered under his breath as the Sirens stuck their tongues out and the imps started spluttering in protest to the two rulers.

'See.. see that..' Panic jabbed his finger glaring at the fiery god.

'We told ya they always start it..' Pain sounded in the same .

Somehow Hades felt like he was asking for a miracle..

'Knock that off..' His miracle suddenly sounded in the stern voice of his little wife. Persephone's usually tolerant green eyes flashed irritably at the minions. All five blinked as it was rare to have the Queen of the Dead tell them off, they seemed to sense that it was now getting serious.

'Now all _five_ of you will do as he says-' She threw a stern look at her own minions so they knew that she meant it. '-or _so help me _I'll lock you all in Tartarus until the end of spring, you _understand!_' As usual it was an empty threat but it had the desired affect on the two imps and three Sirens, after all spring was definitely not the busiest time of year and a few minions wouldn't be missed. Hades couldn't help but smirk as their underlings processed what was being said by the more docile of their Underworld bosses.

Both sets of minions straightened and nodded in earnest at their queen, each desperate to avoid the horrible fate that awaited them if they failed to comply with what Persephone wanted.

'You can count on us your attractiveness..' Both imps sounded in sync with a cute little salute while the Sirens trilled,

'Anything you say Miss Persephone..' Each girl had an identical nervous smile on her candy-pink lips.

'Nice bluff Sephykins..' Hades purred into her ear in a low voice so the minions wouldn't hear. He then wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her to the door before turning back to the five underlings still sat ridged at the long table.

'Have a nice day..' He sounded in a bright and breezy tone with a hint of a sadistic smirk playing about his lips.

The imps let out a low sigh of relief… they hated it when Persephone was cross with them but at least they weren't the only ones in trouble. They glanced over at the Sirens who were huddled together whispering before the three nymph-girls turned back to them with matching smirks.

'So girls..' Tele sounded. '-what shall we do to them today?'

'Let's give them a makeover..' The one on the right sounded gleefully.

'Ooh, great idea Molpe..' Her identical sister on the left side beamed.

'Ah, now hold on one sec ladies..' Pain sounded in a gentle chiding tone.

'Yeh..' Panic said placing his hands on his hips moodily.. '-we've got to keep up a _professional_ appearance..'

'Duh..' Raidne sounded in mock-stupidity. '-who do you think we are? You?' Panic frowned at them, pushing his bottom lip out sulkily.

'Besides..' Tele drawled in a hinted tone. '-we _are_ professionals..'

'Yeh..' Molpe sounded in true air-head style. '-we'll do our jobs first and _then_ give you a makeover so… nuhhh..' She poked her tongue out as the other two girls left the room and she flounced off after them smirking gleefully.

'Gee..' Pain sounded sarcastically glaring at his green partner and drumming his fingers irritably on the table. '-so instead of getting the humiliation over with we now have to wait for it..' He paused as Panic scowled briefly at him. 'Nice going Stick-Man..'

'Hey..' The green imp snarled. '-you started it so it's your fault!'

'Nuh-uh..' the pink imp sounded defiantly. '-you finished it so it's your fault..'

'Is not..'

'Is too..'

'Is not..'

'Is too..'

This argument carried on all the way to the throne room where the two imps picked up their clipboards, then the two of them headed down the stairs to the Styx still at loggerheads..

* * *

As the chariot pulled up on Cloud Nine Persephone breathed a huge sigh of relief and she darted out of the two-wheeled vehicle glad to be on solid ground again… or at least as solid as a cloud could be. Hades blinked at his wife's slightly greenish complexion then he smirked amused as she took great gasping breathes of relief.

'Since when did you start getting motion sickness?' He asked raising a brow.

'I dunno..' She sounded feebly as another wave of nausea passed over her.

'Hey..' The soft voice of her husband sounded and Persephone straightened and turned back to him hoping she didn't look as awful as she felt.. '-ya feelin' ok?' His golden orbs scanned her face with concern..

'Yeh..' Persephone sighed as he stomach settled itself and she then flashed a reassuring smile. '-I'm ok sweetie..' Hades gave her a narrow-eyed look of doubt. 'R_eally_..' She sounded more insistently then recognised the disappointed look in his eyes, knowing what he was trying to do.. So she then added in a playful tone.

'And stop trying to bail out on this party..' She smirked amused. '-I'm starting to see why Erebus called you 'Hades'..'

'Oh yeh?' The fiery god smirked amused tossing down the reins then flipping over the bonnet of the chariot and landed on his smoking feet beside his wife, his smirk widened considerably… proud of his little aerial-aerobics.

'Yeh..' Persephone rolled her green eyes disregarding his showing off. '-because your so dam transparent..' She giggled amused as Hades frowned.

'Oh..' He sounded pretending to be offended. '-your lucky you're my wife or I'd just..'

'Yeh, yeh.. or you'd just roast me alive I know..' Persephone waved a hand dismissively clinging onto his arm as they headed towards the sounds of little Eris' party.

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey peeps, you may have noticed the slight change in my disclaimer… this very important point that was brought to my attention and it was my mistake for not mentioning it before… sorry._

_Ok, the chapter title was a little bit of a nudge towards the Proserpine Plague (we've all suffered from it at some point in our lives) but I'll let you work out what it is for yourselves… it's not that hard, honest._

_What happens next? Only one way to find out…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy x_


	12. A new found Lease of Life

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch, I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Twelve:****A new-found Lease of Life**

Both Hades and Persephone's faces contorted into a mixture of surprise and horror as they entered the home-cloud of Aphrodite and Hephaestus and caught sight of the decorations. Everything was poofy, frilly and a sickly shade of vivid pink, it was as if they had just walked into a fluffy marshmallow-coliseum. Soft lure music was being pumped through the cloud and by the looks of it Hestia had managed to whip up quite a spread for the occasion, the buffet table had lots of sweetly sticky treats covered in forget-me-not lavender or baby pink icing. There weren't a vast number of gods at the party, mostly because Aphrodite didn't want to overwhelm Eris, but it didn't stop the Underworld deities feeling a little out of place… especially since the birthday girl wasn't here yet.

'Uh..' Persephone groaned, placing a hand over her mouth as her stomach lurched uncomfortably. '-I think I'm gonna be sick..'

'Yehh..' Hades drawled, his lip curling in disgust while remaining completely oblivious to the fact that his teenage wife had now orbed straight to a bathroom. '-me too baby..' His golden eyes rolled before the fiery god suddenly realised his wife had vanished. '-Seph?' He sounded in disbelief then the Lord of the Underworld sighed heavily and shook his head… _Oy, goddesses.._

The blue-flamed deity found himself a quiet spot, making sure he was in plain sight for Persephone when she returned from wherever she had disappeared off to. He then began to survey the party guests through a lazy, disinterested gaze. Ares, Hephaestus and Hermes were chatting in one corner while Bacchus, who seemed to come to any party going, was already hitting the booze… not that Hades blamed him, this party was duller than Trivia who .._thank the Fates.. _hadn't been invited… The pink-skinned, rotund God of Parties gave a large belch which caused Hades to half roll his eyes and turned away as Demeter, who clearly hadn't spotted her son-in-law yet, scolded her son for his lack of manners. Hades smirked to himself as he heard Bacchus' response to his mother's fussing before his eyes caught sight of Athena. The blue-skinned Goddess of Wisdom was chatting animatedly to Cadmus, he had obviously been dragged up by Harmonia who needed the loving support of her dutiful boyfriend to get through this day. The fiery god however could see no sign of Aphrodite's eldest daughter anywhere…

'Heya Hades where's the missus..' A cheery voice caused Hades to swivel around and see Hermes beaming at him in his usual cheery-slash-moronic self. For a moment Hades considered telling the Messenger God to shove it before remembering that this flying blue half-wit was his wife's best friend.

'Oy..' The fiery Lord of the Dead sighed but relented. '-no idea, she just orbed off somewhere..' He shrugged airily trying not to sound as affected by this as he really was.. Persephone never usually disappeared off without telling him where she was going..

'Ah don't worry Flamer, she couldn't have gotten far..' Hermes waved a hand, knowing full well that his best friend would never stand her husband up. The fiery god suddenly flared a brilliant shade of orange at Hermes' words.

The Messenger God flashed an oily grin at Hades' flared up and furious glare.

'Heh-heh, easy now big guy..' The tiny blue god backed away from the towering inferno that was Hades. '-Flamer just not cuttin' it, huh?' The fiery god's eyes narrowed dangerously at this point. 'Ha-how 'bout I go see what happened to your wife?' Hermes stuttered then flailed his arms as he shot off hurriedly which caused Hades to return to blue and flash a huge smirk..

'Yeh..' He drawled watching the tiny Messenger God fly off. '-you do that.'

* * *

Persephone wrinkled her nose in disgust. She'd made it to the bathroom just in time to projectile vomit into the toilet and now all she had was the acidy aftertaste of her pre-digested breakfast in her mouth. The young goddess was unsure if having her usual pomegranate salad had been a good idea or not but she was glad she'd only managed to stomach half of it. The Goddess of Life rubbed her abdomen gently feeling that strange sensation of new life again.. Ok, this time she hadn't imagined it. What was her body trying to tell her?

Grimacing at the contents in the toilet the young Queen of the Underworld flushed it while hardly believing that she'd managed to bring it up in the first place.. Persephone then wandered over to the sink and inspected her reflection in the mirror. She sighed with relief as, apart from slightly watery eyes, it wasn't obvious that she'd just been sick.. The young goddess then summoned a bottle of mouthwash out of a swirl of orbs and took a swig, gargling to get rid of the awful taste of bile from her mouth. When she spat out the liquid Persephone couldn't help but smile as her mouth was filled with a sweetly tangy taste which made her teeth feel so clean…

Finally, they had found a good use for mint.. or Minthe as the little green plant had been known in her once nymph form. Ever since The young Queen of the Underworld had planted that tiny little green plant in her grove mint had made itself right at home and spawned some little seedlings of her own… Now they were breeding almost as fast as the Asphodels, filling the Underworld with their powerfully sweet smell which almost covered up the sulphur. Hades had often joked that now she was a plant Minthe was using her offspring to take over the Underworld.

'Persephone?' A soft voice suddenly punctured the young goddess' thoughts and caused her brilliant green eyes to widen as she caught sight of another woman in the bathroom with her.

The other goddess was smiling with warm hazel eyes that hinted her concern, her brilliant red hair was held up into a neat bun that was decorated with leafy herbs. Her golden skin and aura glowed brightly and her curvaceous figure was clothed in a demure peach coloured chiton.

'Hestia..' Persephone breathed then turned and smiled, pleased to see her aunt and mentor.

'Your looking a little peaky dear..' The Goddess of the Hearth sounded still looking worried as she examined her favourite niece. '-are you feeling alright?'

'Well, I have been feeling a little sick lately..' Persephone confessed, feeling the need to tell her aunt everything. When Persephone had a problem she would confide in Hestia… unlike her mother the Goddess of the Hearth always remained unjudgmental, Hades lacked both tact and sensitivity while Hermes just didn't know when to keep schtum with news like this..

'Heh..' The young Goddess of Life flushed a pale shade of peach. '-doesn't that sound silly.. When do gods get sick?' Persephone sounded in a slightly self-conscious tone. Hestia merely flashed her niece a motherly smile and rested a dainty golden hand on her shoulder.

'Well, I don't know about gods Persephone..' Hestia sounded cheerfully while still smiling in a motherly fashion. '-but I think I know why your feeling a little under the weather..'

'You do?' Persephone sounded hopefully, her green eyes lighting up with optimism at her aunt's words.

'Tell me, have you been feeling unusual surges of life energy that have had nothing to do with the change in season?' Hestia really didn't want to give the game away and her niece was such a sharp-minded goddess she was surprised she hadn't figured it out for herself.

Persephone blinked surprised before slowly answering.

'Well now that you mention it… yes..' The young goddess nodded remembering the few times that a sharp jolt of new life had shot through her. '-but what does it mean?' She cocked a brow still not following. Her naivety caused Hestia to chortle amused.

'It means that there is new life..' The golden-skinned goddess sounded smoothly resting a dainty hand on her niece's abdomen. '-here, inside of you..'

Persephone's eyes widened in shock at what her aunt was suggesting… no way, it wasn't possible.. but the more the young goddess mused on it, the more it made sense. After all, it had been far too long since her last menstrual cycle.

'You mean..' Persephone sounded gently still dazed with the enormity of the truth. '-I'm pregnant?' As soon as the words came out of her mouth a well of excitement washed over her. Hestia was beaming widely at her niece, feeling both happy and emotional for her. She was one of the very few gods who had known about the difficulties the Underworld couple had had in conceiving and was genuinely pleased that there was finally going to be a new addition… and besides, since this was going to be a child of Hades that mean that this baby was going to be a new little niece or nephew for her to love..

'Uh-uh..' The golden-skinned Goddess of the Hearth sounded.

'Oh my days..' Persephone squealed excitedly. '_I'm pregnant!_' She then let out a girly shriek of joy and hugged her aunt tightly, the two of them twirled and laughed together until a third familiar voice spoke curiously.

'What above earth is going on in here?'

Both Hestia and Persephone turned to see Demeter standing in the doorway looking amused at the two of them.

'Oh mom, it's finally happened..' Persephone sounded excitedly clasping her hands together looking misty-eyed. For a moment the green-skinned goddess merely looked blankly at her daughter, not following her. Then the drachma dropped.

'Is she really..' Demeter turned to her older sister needing confirmation.

'Uh-huh..' Hestia nodded with a happy smile.

'Oh Persephone..' The Goddess of Nature sounded in a delighted over-emotional tone and swept her daughter into a tight embrace. 'This is wonderful news..' She sounded as Persephone gasped in her mother's grip.

'Mother… please… not so tight..' She managed to stutter before Demeter blinked and instantly released her daughter.

'Sorry sweetheart..' She replied rubbing her daughter's arm. '-it's just so _exciting_..' The green-skinned goddess couldn't help but beam at her daughter..

* * *

The fiery Lord of the Underworld shifted his weight and scanned the group of gods around the party again. His golden eyes roaming the cloud anxiously. As he searched for the familiar white-skin, blonde hair and green eyes of his wife Hades noticed that Poseidon was standing on the opposite side of the pink fluffy cloud.

The fiery god silently prayed that his fish-headed brother hadn't spotted him but unfortunately the Lord of the Seas suddenly caught sight of him. Hades flashed the sea-green god an uncomfortable grin while his head drummed… _don't come over, don't come over, don't come over_… Suddenly Poseidon detached himself from the conversation he'd been in with Ares and Hephaestus then made his way over to the fiery god.

_Fate dammit!_

'Hades!' Poseidon's cheerful voice burst out causing the fiery god to repress a shudder with difficulty while cursing the Fates under his breath. 'Haven't seen you around here for a while… where is that lovely wife of yours?' The sea-green god lent on his glowing pink trident beaming at his brother who was the same height as him.

'Uh..' Hades sounded thinking fast. '-she's around here somewhere..' He shrugged trying to remain nonchalant.

'Ha-ha, given you the slip already has she?' Poseidon chuckled amused whacking Hades between the shoulder blades, thankfully nowhere near as hard as Zeus would. The fiery god frowned at his brothers words.

'Aww, I was just kidding Hades..' Poseidon added catching the dark look that crossed his brother's face. 'Hey, speaking of giving someone the slip, did I ever tell about when I first created the octopus?' The Lord of the Seas sounded keenly causing Hades' eyes to roll..

'Yeh, yeh, yeh..' The fiery god waved his sea-green brother's words off then added in a bored tone, '-ya created this big slimy purple thing with eight legs and two large freaky eyes then tossed it on the beach scaring Amphitrite's sister Themis half to death, badda-bing badda-boom your one practical joker Po-Po..'

'Oh, yeh..' Poseidon added then began to laugh heartily. '-but you should have seen her face… priceless..' Hades didn't join in with his brother's laughter which instantly stopped as a soft but steady voice spoke.

'Are you still laughing about the time you scared Themis with that big ugly squid?' Both gods turned to see the teal-skinned Amphitrite standing there with her lilac chiton and blonde hair tucked under a large red snail-shell. Her deep blue eyes were narrowed as a small smirk was playing about her lips. Poseidon instantly flashed his willowy wife a wide smile as the Queen of the Seas then cocked a brow and added, '-three thousand years later and she still hasn't forgiven you for that..'

'Oh come on Amphi..' Poseidon sounded beseechingly. '-you've got forty-nine sisters, I can't please them all at once..'

* * *

'Does he know yet..'

'No mother..' Persephone rolled her green eyes expressively. '-and I'm not going to tell him until we're back in the Underworld ok..' The three goddesses were heading back to the party as Aphrodite must be ready to bring in the birthday girl by now. As they approached the pillars leading back into the party Hermes appeared out of a brilliant blue blur.

'There you are Seph..' The tiny blue Messenger God beamed widely, clearly relieved to see her. '-Hades has been lookin' for ya..' Hermes then lent into her and winked. '-I think he thinks you've ditched him babe..' Persephone blinked vacantly before her green eyes flashed with realisation as she remembered that she'd orbed out on her husband without a word… not that she'd had time to say anything.

'Oh, well I better go see him if he's worrying about me..' She smiled widely at her best friend then the young goddess turned to her mother and aunt and waved bye to them mouthing 'not one word until I tell him', she then gestured in the direction of her husband. Both Hestia and Demeter were looking emotional again as they simultaneously pulled white lacy handkerchiefs out of their bosoms and dabbed their eyes nodding. Persephone shook her head faintly amused by them before turning back around and wandering through the small crowd of gods hurriedly.. Nobody else should know about the baby before Hades..

Hermes blinked confused watching the strange wordless understanding that sent Demeter and Hestia into tears of happiness before the young goddess scurried off to find her husband. Despite feeling out of the loop the Messenger God couldn't help but notice something different about his best friend. Her whole body seemed to have a glow about it.. like new life was radiating off of her.. But that was silly since, as the Goddess of Life, she was all about life..

'So..' Hermes sounded turning back to the two sisters who were smiling watching Persephone approach her husband, they turned to the tiny blue god as he spoke. '-what am I missin' here girls..' He raised an eyebrow confused but both daughters of Rhea glanced at each other and smiled a knowing smile. Then Hestia giggled and mimed zipping her mouth and throwing away the key before returning to the party. When Hermes turned to Demeter with an expectant look she merely shook her head and smiled uttering,

'You'll find out soon enough my dear..' Before she too returned to the party leaving the tiny blue Messenger God still looking lost… _What on Olympus was going on.._

* * *

'Here she is.. the birthday girl..' Aphrodite trilled excitedly, holding her one year old daughter by one hand as Harmonia had the other. In between them little Eris was taking wobbly steps and wearing a sweet little knee-length lilac chiton held together with two tiny apple-shaped chiton pins made by Hephaestus. The tiny red-skinned goddess looked around the crowd of gods shyly, having only been used to ever seeing one or two gods at a time she was more than apprehensive about this.

'Aww…' Most of the congregation cooed at the little godling who clutched the fingers of her mother and big sister nervously. Hades sighed heavily as Poseidon and Amphitrite moved towards the front to give Aphrodite's daughter their birthday gift. As the fiery god lent back against the pillar his wife appeared out of the crowd of gods.

'Where on this fluffy-formed Tartarus did you orb off to, huh?' Hades frowned at her and the goddess flashed him an apologetic smile.

'Oh I'm sorry sweetie..' She uttered softly, wrapping her slim arms around his waist. '-but it was an emergency I swear.' The young goddess pulled an adorable pout sliding her fingers up his chest and then stroking Hades' long jaw line.

'Hmm..' The fiery god's brows contracted as his eyes flickered between his wife's studying her face as though trying to decide whether to believe her or not. '-alright Sephy, I'll letcha off this time babe but remember: you're my wife so I own ya..' He flashed her a sadistic leer while his words were bright and breezy. Persephone couldn't help but giggle at him as she pulled his face gently down so their lips were inches apart..

'Have I ever told you that you have one warped view on marriage?' The young goddess spoke with amusement gently cradling his face before kissing him. It was a very brief embrace as Persephone broke it off before either of them could truly get into it. She smiled widely as she pulled away from Hades. The fiery god cocked an eyebrow with faint amusement at her pleased expression.

'What're ya so happy about?' He asked smirking.

'I'll tell you later sweetie..' She sounded then gripped his hand and pulled him. 'Come on, we better go see the birthday girl..'

Hades groaned inwardly at the thought of social contact with the Goddess of Love, the two of them had never seen eye to eye, but he did not fight his wife as she lead him through the crowds towards Aphrodite and little Eris..

* * *

_Little Notes: _

_Hey Everybody… for those of you who did manage to guess that the Proserpine Plague was nothing more than a common cold/flu virus, well done… it wasn't really that hard was it? Of course the practise of medicine was fairly new to Ancient Greece at that time and since Persephone was also known as the Goddess of Curses I thought it would be appropriate to name the virus after her. I have the cold right now and lemmie tell ya, it feels like a curse! XP_

_I must confess I love Hades' lack of tolerance for anybody who isn't Persephone… marriage clearly hasn't changed him that much!_

_Ok, Seph's pregnant now, so sit back, relax and make yourselves at comfortable because this is going to be one of the longest pregnancies in fanfic history…._

_Take Care… and please review…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	13. The Mentor of a Little Red Troublemaker

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Thirteen:****The Mentor of a Little Red Troublemaker**

'Oh Seph..' Aphrodite cooed, lifting the pretty little chiton up. '-this dress is _so_ adorable, where did you get it?' The pink-skinned goddess beamed at the young Queen of the Underworld.

'I made it myself..' Persephone smiled proudly. She'd always been good at weaving and needlepoint ever since she was a little girl.

'Wow, you really made this?' Aphrodite sounded amazed, looking over the chiton once more. 'I wish I could sew..' Persephone looked surprised then Aphrodite lent in and added. '-I can't do it without breaking a nail..'

'But what about your 'Aphrodite Secret' line of clothing?' The Goddess of Life blinked.

'Duh, don't be so naïve Seph.. you don't have to sew to design clothes.' Aphrodite scoffed waving a slim pink hand dismissively. '-I just sketch out the design and the Graces stitch it up for me..' The Goddess of Love giggled amused.

Hades, who had been watching both goddesses with bored narrowed eyes, suddenly smirked then lent into his wife's ear and uttered,

'Now we know why it's called 'Aphrodite Secret'..' Persephone flashed her husband a briefly amused smirk before shushing him. Aphrodite had heard Hades' comment and the goddess' large blue eyes narrowed with dislike at him.

'Uh-huh, yeh… really witty Hades now shut up so I can make my announcement..' Aphrodite said frowning at the Lord of the Underworld who shrugged unmoved by her words.

'Whatever babe.. just don't be all day about it 'kay. Some of us actually have _jobs_ to get back to..' Hades uttered causing Aphrodite to shoot another glare at him before turning around to the crowd.

'Ok people..' She called out and the crowd of gods who had been whispering amongst themselves stopped and turned to the Goddess of Love. Aphrodite fluffed her blonde hair then picked up her daughter and addressed the crowd again. '-on behalf of my little Eris..' She snuggled her daughter before continuing, '-I wanna thank you for all for your lovely gifts..' The Goddess of Love beamed.

'Also, I would like to announce that I have finally chosen Eris' mentors..'

This statement was met with a small ripple of murmuring then an expectant pause as the assemblage of gods waited for Aphrodite to speak, even Hades who had been surveying the Goddess of Love with only mild interest seemed to pay more attention.

'Ok so it's probably no big surprise to many of you to know that Eris' first mentor is Ares..' Aphrodite paused as the crowd applauded and Ares bowed and shot his sister Athena a smug smirk. Athena merely rolled her eyes and shook her head with disapproval. Hermes and Bacchus both clapped their friend on the back congratulating him on the honour.

'I'll go get the chariot..' Hades murmured in his wife's ear, the fiery god intended to get out of this fluffy-formed Tartarus as soon as the mentors were announced… besides, it wasn't like Aphrodite would ever pick an Underworld deity to mentor Eris..

Persephone merely made a grunt of acknowledgement in response to her husband's words, unlike him she was quite interested in finding out who Eris' other mentor was. She didn't even bother to try and stop Hades as he slipped unnoticed towards the exit.

As Hades headed swiftly through the exit Aphrodite continued with her prepared speech.

'Of course we all know how important it is for every girl to have a female role model, so for Eris' second mentor I had to think long and hard about which goddess it could be..'

Hades rolled his golden eyes and groaned with exasperation when he re-entered the cloud, shaking his head as the Goddess of Love was still droning on, clearly loving the fact that all the attention was on her..

'Oy vey… yak, yak, yak.. just tell 'em who the poor schmo is already so we can get outta here..' The fiery god sounded in a bored voice as he lent against the entrance pillar with a fed up expression… _Sheesh, way to milk a moment.._

'So after much consideration Eris' mentor is..' Aphrodite paused for dramatic effect causing Hades to flare orange as he silently willed her to just say the damn name. '-Persephone..'

'What?' Hades sounded as his eyes widened in shock. He wasn't the only one either, most of the gods in the crowd were staring in disbelief at Aphrodite's words then they began muttering to each other.. But they're surprise was nothing compared to Persephone's shock.

'_Wha- me_?' The white-skinned goddess sounded completely gobsmacked by her words. 'Why did you pick me?' Persephone's voice was laced with disbelief.. After all, who in their right mind would ever pick an Underworld deity to be their child's mentor..

'Ok, I'll level with you..' Aphrodite put down her daughter on the large pink playmat in the centre of the room and headed over to the white-skinned Goddess of Life who was still lent against the pillar were Hades had left her. '-Eris really doesn't seem to like many of the girls up here..' Both goddesses then glanced at the little red-skinned goddess who was babbling and playing happily with a large cloud-soft pink bear, her blue eyes would occasionally flash a wary glance at the gods who were near her. Aphrodite sighed heavily then turned back to Persephone.

'Y'know, she always has a smile for you Seph..' The young Goddess of Life looked bemused at Aphrodite's words. '-and I really need someone who's a little more level-headed than Ares..' Persephone groaned heavily now..

'Isn't this something Athena would be better suited to?' She sounded with a slight moan.

'Uh please, could you imagine trying to have a civil conversation about Eris with those two..' The Goddess of Love shook her head firmly before adding. '-besides, she's Harmonia's mentor anyway..'

'But I really don't know if I can handle this..' Persephone sounded unsurely, still trying to talk her way out of it while everybody else was distracted by Eris and her bear..

'Oh come on Seph..' Aphrodite snorted, rolling her eyes. '-if you can handle Hades Eris will be a synch.' She sounded confidently and Persephone sighed heavily, realising she wasn't getting the chance to back out.

'Ok, fine..' She sounded reluctantly. '-I'll do it but I really don't know what I can show her..' In response to this Aphrodite gave a small squeal and hugged the Queen of the Underworld in delight.. Once more Persephone blinked in shock, not used to being grabbed in such a fashion by another goddess..

* * *

Little Eris surveyed the crowd with wide innocent blue eyes as she snuggled into the big pink bear that her grandparents Zeus and Hera had given her for this special day, although Eris really didn't know what was so special about it. All the tiny red-skinned goddess knew was she was the centre of attention.

Sure, getting loads of new toys had been pretty neat but Eris didn't know what to make of being stuck in a room with so many gods at once.. and they were all staring at her. Eris wasn't used to such awareness and the little goddess had grown quickly bored with being the centre of attention. She didn't like those other gods staring at her all the time… What was so fascinating about her?

Eris' eyes swivelled around the room looking for someone she recognised. She finally located her mommy talking with that nice goddess called 'Seph' a few meters away. She then quickly spotted her daddy and 'Uncle Ares' chatting with another god.. Eris was sure she should know his name but she couldn't remember it. She didn't even know where her sister 'Harmonia' had got to… the red-skinned godling couldn't see her anywhere..

The volume of conversation in the room rose several notches now, startling Eris. The tiny goddess clutched her pink bear nervously as her eyes flitted between the towering mass of colour. She didn't like this anymore, she wanted mommy to come back.. Eris sat up a little and gauged the distance between her and mommy. She was out of crawling distance.. Well, she wasn't really but somebody would most likely pick her up before she reached mommy and place her back on the mat..

Eris shook her blonde little head trying to blot out the loud talking of the other gods, there were too many talking to know what they were saying for sure. But trying to blot them out didn't work, they only seemed to talk more loudly.. Eris' little face contorted into a frown now, she just wanted them to shut up. She then tried to tell them to 'be quiet' but since she hadn't quite figured out how to say that yet it came out more like,

'Bah kee-hat..' These gurgling baby noises did nothing to silence the group, instead the grown deities cooed at her attempt at talking. This made little Eris narrow her pretty blue eyes.. Why did adults always think everything she did was cute?

There was only one thing for it..

Eris turned back to her big pink bear and began to pretend-play with it.. After a moment of watching an infant waggle a big pink bear about the adults returned to their conversations and the little red-skinned goddess smirked.. Adults were so easy to fool..

Once she was sure that nobody was looking, Eris reached around her cloud-stuffed bear to a small hole she had made in it's lower back. She then stuck her tiny little fist inside of the bear and began to rummage around inside. After a brief moment of sifting about she gripped something cool, smooth and round then pulled it out. Eris beamed at the object she'd retrieved from the depths of her big pink bear.. Her Apple of Discord. Mommy wouldn't be happy to see it but desperate times called for desperate measures..

This was bound to shut those annoying adults right up… but what kind of chaos could she bring? Eris pondered very briefly on the subject before the answer hit her… and a sneaky little devious look crossed her pretty red face..

The tiny little red-skinned daughter of Aphrodite then tossed the apple towards a group of goddesses that were talking nearby. The golden apple bounced twice then rolled unnoticed between the group of five goddesses which consisted of Artemis, Hebe, Athena, Hera and Amphitrite. For a one suspense-ridden moment the apple sat perfectly still before it vanished in a large puff of red smoke which released dozens of creepy-crawlies. The insects- which included spiders, centipedes, cockroaches and other nasty bugs- instantly scuttled off for the closest cover which, in some cases, was under chitons.

Every head in the coliseum swivelled around startled as the five goddesses began screaming in shrill, petrified voices. Even Athena and Artemis who prided themselves on bravery were screaming and running to their brothers for protection. Other gods yelled out in surprise and horror as they caught sight of the creepy crawlies scuttling across the cloudy floor. Bugs were not a common thing on Olympus.

Eris didn't scream… The little goddess merely giggled amused and smiled sweetly clutching her golden apple, which had reappeared to her out of a puff of red smoke once it had done it's job..

However there was one goddess who didn't scream petrified. Instead Aphrodite's scream was one of fury…

'_Eris!_'

* * *

Hades was still grinning widely as he slouched lower into his throne. It was evening now and the fiery god was slicing himself a pomegranate snack.

'Y'know..' The fiery god mused as his sucked a droplet of pomegranate juice that rolled down his finger. '-I don't think I've ever had so much fun at a kid's party before..' He chuckled amused at the memories of gods running around like idiotic minions until Zeus threw his bolts then summoned Boreas the God of Winds to blow all the disgusting insects off the cloud. Everything had pretty much bombed after that so Hades grabbed his missus and bailed.

'Hmm..' Persephone made an agreeable noise. '-I still can't believe that Eris conjured those bugs..' She sounded from her perch on the armrest of Hades' throne.

'Heh, heh, heh… yehh..' Hades drawled narrowing his eyes. '-that kid's got some real chutzpah..' The young Queen of the Underworld rolled her wide green eyes and shook her head with mock-disbelief, trust her husband to be praising Eris' misdeeds.

'I know-' Persephone sounded gently feeling insecure.. '-she's going to need some serious guidance in her life..' The young goddess sighed heavily. '-but I just don't think I'm the right goddess to be mentoring Eris..'

Hades blinked surprised by his wife's words then he swivelled to his wife concerned. Persephone's green eyes were downcast and forlorn.. Did she really think she couldn't do this 'mentoring gig'?

The fiery god set down he untouched quarter of pomegranate and took one of his wife's small dainty white fingers in his hand.

'Hey..' He crooned softly causing her eyes to flash in his direction. '-ya can handle anything this kid can dish out my sweet..' Persephone's cherry lips curled upwards into a little smirk of amusement.

'How do you know that?' She asked gazing into his rounded eyes.

'Cause your married to me babe..' Hades' leering smirk widened. '-and I know that I ain't no waltz in the woods..' Persephone's smile broaden considerably then she waved a small hand.

'Oh, your not that bad..' She sounded in a light giggle before returning to the subject of mentors. '-but I still think Athena would have been a better choice..'

'Athena and Ares mentoring Eris?' Hades blinked then snorted at the thought. 'Pfft.. No way, the poor kid wouldn't stand a chance..' Hades didn't want to think about where Eris would end up with those two arguing over her upbringing… probably a cell in Tartarus, if she was lucky..

Persephone raised one brow with a look of scepticism at her husband causing the fiery Lord of the Underworld to try again. He clutched both her fingers now, rubbing the backs of her hands gently as he addressed her.

'Look Seph, I ain't gonna pretend to know why Aphrodite picked ya for this gig but I know your gonna be great at it, just like I know your gonna be a great mom someday..' Persephone couldn't help feeling emotional at his words. Hades always knew just what to say to make her feel better about herself. His words also made her pull her fingers out of his grip and place her hands on her flat abdomen where their tiny baby-foetus was. In all the excitement with Eris today she had almost forgotten this important piece of news. Persephone couldn't help but smile as Hades picked up his pomegranate segment, she knew her husband was going to make a great parent too..

'Um Hades..' The young queen sounded nervously, keeping a dainty pearly hand cupped protectively over what would soon be a blossoming baby bump. '-that day might be sooner than you think..' Persephone was impressed by how calm her voice sounded, especially as she was feeling so nervous… well, she hoped the fluttering in her stomach was due to butterflies and not the desire to throw up..

Hades, who had now turned back to his healthy snack, suddenly paused when he was about to bite into his sweetly sticky pomegranate segment. The fiery god was frozen, his round golden eyes widened in shock at Persephone's words… He then turned back around to his wife who was smiling serenely at him, pleased that she finally told him. The young Queen of the Underworld hated secrets between them.. it was like living a lie.. The fiery Lord of the Underworld stared for a long moment at his wife, hardly daring to believe what she was suggesting… Could it really be true? Persephone was wearing a strangely peaceful smile with one hand resting comfortably on her stomach..

'You mean to say..' Hades sounded clasping his hands together, his voice almost broke with the mix of emotions welling up inside of him and he tried to well the tears of joy from bursting forth… it was just what he had been hoping for, now his life was complete..

'Mmm hmm..' Persephone sounded, her smile widened at the emotional expression on her husband's face… she had no idea that becoming a father had meant so much to him.

The fiery god sighed pleasurably, still looking blown away by the fact that his wife was pregnant.

'Finally, after all these months of waiting..' Hades wiped away the tear that was forming in his eye. He then looked at the four quarters of the pomegranate in front of him grinning widely. '-to Tartarus with this diet.' He sounded elated causing the fruit to vanish in a puff of smoke only to be replaced by a bowl of worms. Instantly the fiery god dipped his long spider-like fingers into the bowl and pulled out one thick, long pink, wiggling insect..

Persephone humphed irritably and frowned at her husband as he sucked on the worm with a contented expression.

'_Oh_ _yeh_… that's the good stuff..' Hades sounded in a low purr of satisfaction as he slouched lower in his throne. He then caught the disapproval his wife was throwing at him.

'Yeesh, lighten up toots the brat ain't gonna be here for another nine months, let's just deal with here the now, 'kay?' Persephone's expression on lightened to despairing.

'Eight and a half months sweetie..' She corrected in a monotonous voice.

'Whatever babe..' Hades rolled his eyes then lent into his wife. '-shall we get the daily status report from Team Useless?' He flashed her a serpentine leer, they hadn't seen the minions since they had returned home from Eris' birthday party.

'Fine..' Persephone sighed heavily, leaning back against her husband.

'_Pain! Panic!_' The fiery god suddenly bellowed. Then after a moment both minions appeared looking very self conscious indeed and flushed as they stood in line before the throne.

'You called your morbidness..' The imps didn't get to finish their line as the second the two Rulers of the Underworld laid eyes on them both Hades and Persephone cracked up into laughter.

The two minions were both dressed in ladies garments and wearing make-up… those darn Siren-Withes had done it again.. Pain was wearing a very fetching pastel blue chiton with large yellow flowers on it, he was wearing a long red wig on his head and his lips were painted with candy pink lipstick. Panic on the other hand was wearing a slinky black chiton with high-heeled sandals and a stylish blonde wig while wearing bright vampish red lipstick.

'Oh man..' Hades chuckled as Persephone giggled hysterically. '-I always knew you guys were fruity but s_heesh!_' The fiery god then fell back against his throne, blue flames burning brightly as he laughed again. Both imps shared a withering look before turning back as their bosses managed to compose themselves.

'So boys..' Hades flashed a grin then nudged his wife playfully adding in an undertone. '-or should I say girls..' Persephone snickered again. 'Status report! And make it snappy..' He flashed both Pain and Panic a sadistic leer as he pulled a cigar out of nowhere and lit it..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps, I hope you liked the little insight into Eris. I've wanted to do some writing on her for a while and now seemed like the perfect time to bring her into the story. The part where she pulls the her apple out of a hole in her bear is in honour of my brother's childhood bear (who was aptly named Hector the Detector)… This three foot bear had a hole in his lower back and my brother used to always shove his toys in it, then find them months later when he forgot they were there! XP_

_Ok, thanks Josh Spicer for the suggestion of Eris having godparents, it was an idea that I had been thinking of but since this is a very Christian tradition and as they weren't technically around at the time (plus I seriously doubt gods would name them 'godparents' anyway) I decided to look for an alternative.. After doing some research on the subject I came across a story saying that when Odysseus went to the Trojan War he left his young son in the care of an old friend named Mentor. It was Athena, through Mentor, who convinced the young Telemachus to stand up against his mother's suitors and go abroad to see what had happened to his father. It was also because of Mentor's near-parental relationship with Telemachus that we now get the term: Mentor which refers to a parent-like-teacher (which is basically what a godparent is).._

_Stay tuned and please review…_

_Take Care…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy xXx_


	14. The Preparations of Parenthood

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Fourteen:****The ****Preparations of Parenthood..**

The winter months had been long and boring for Hecate. Haunting the nether regions, which were located in the crossroads between the living and the dead, wasn't a particularly stimulating job. It was the main reason why the Goddess of Witchcraft had set her sights on the Underworld throne. Another reason for wanting control of the Underworld was because she felt that it wasn't reaching it's full potential and Hades certainly wasn't looking for ways to improve business.. In fact, Hecate had always got the impression that the fiery Ruler of the Dead would much rather being doing something else… or someone else. Of course, Hades' had never really taken a great deal of interest in his charges before and his approach to his realm stunk more than the disgustingly sweet green plants that were breeding like weeds… as a result the numbers had always been low.. But ever since Persephone had started reincarnating souls the numbers had dropped even further and her fiery husband was too enraptured by her beauty to care..

It frustrated Hecate to see such a potential soul-mine go to waste. Clearly these two gods weren't running things properly and needed to be ousted as soon as possible… So the sooner the Queen of the Underworld got pregnant, the sooner Hecate could start making plans for a new Underworld order..

Hecate sighed heavily while lounging lazily on her silver wolf-skin-covered throne. The official start of spring was only days away and the young goddess still wasn't with child. It had been a whole year since those two deities had decided to try for a brat and there was still no progress. The with was growing more and more impatient with every passing week. It seemed as if she would never get her chance to overthrow those two self-indulgent gods that were occupying the Underworld throne.

Then finally, on the very cusp of spring her two loyal minions swooped into the dimly lit grotto with some news that caused a wide twisted leer to spread across Hecate's thin violet lips.

'Mistress..' The wolf to land in the grotto first spoke. Hecate inwardly cursed both wolves for looking so alike. '-she is pregnant..'

'-we overheard them breaking the news to their minions a few moments ago..' His brother chipped in with an identical jagged leer.

'_Finally_..' Hecate sounded in a rush of excitement and relief which caused both her minions to beam at her. '-now we can plan when best to take them out..' She then turned thoughtfully before pausing and asking, 'Do either of you know how far along Persephone is in her pregnancy?'

'Around two and a half weeks..' One wolf responded then the other added for good measure,

'-give or take a day or two..'

'Perfect..' Hecate drawled, her silvery eyes narrowing with malicious intent. '-that means by the Harvest Festival Persephone will have entered her third trimester..' Her lips then curled upwards into a nasty sharp-toothed grin as the witch turned to her two minions who were watching her intently. When they saw the cruel and conniving twinkle in their mistress' pale silvery eyes they both flashed her eager and wolfish grins knowing what was coming..

'-and then..' Hecate continued in her low malevolent voice. '-when Persephone least suspects it..' The witch lashed the air with her blue flame-lit torch and the grotto filled with her evil cackling laughter.

* * *

As the winter slowly melted away to make way for the spring season Persephone tried her best to get used to her pregnancy symptoms while the two imps just tried to get their heads around the fact that she was pregnant. The Rulers of the Underworld had broken the news of the expected new arrival to the minions during their morning meeting. The Sirens, being nymphs, had squealed with delight at the news and congratulated their bosses with cheerful words, already offering to baby-sit when the time came… they then flew off to do their daily chores still jabbering on about how wonderful a new baby would be. Pain and Panic were less enthusiastic than their female counterparts about the arrival of a new brat in the Underworld. Over the time that Hades and Persephone had been together the two of them had come to think of the pair as parental-figures and now that they were actually going to become parents the imps couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy…

Hermes, who had arrived for his usual cup of nectar and exchange of gossip, was stunned to hear his best friend was finally pregnant. The tiny blue Messenger God was slightly peeved that he'd been left out of the loop but congratulated the 'Deadly Double-Act' heartily, genuinely pleased that there was going to be another addition to the Underworld… It was about time the big basement had someone other than Hades screaming down the halls.. He then proceeded to titillate Persephone with all the gossip that had happened on Olympus after she and Hades had left Eris' first birthday party. Eris had managed her first solo steps while Aphrodite was having trouble with some princess on Cyprus who was stealing away all her followers and they were worshipping her as the Goddess of Beauty… apparently the fuming pink-goddess was thinking about sending Cupid down to make her fall in love with the ugliest thing he could find. Persephone had giggled amused at this, so Aphrodite was taking a leaf out of her book.. Good for her.

As the official start of spring arrived Persephone reluctantly returned to her surface duties. Being pregnant seemed to make her pine for her Underworld home more than usual while she was away. But there were some advantages to being pregnant, with both her and her mother Demeter buzzing at the prospect of a new baby joining the family spring was the freshest one they had seen in years… and for once the two goddess' weren't arguing over spring themes.

Everything in Persephone's life seemed absolutely perfect..

* * *

Erebus rubbed his long angular chin thoughtfully as he gazed at the chessboard. He pondered for a long moment over the cluster of white and black pieces that were carved to represent the beings of both Olympus and the Underworld. He raised a brow at the impressive collection before him then one long shadowy swirl snaked itself around the white figure of Hera, it glided across the board in a diagonal movement over the squares of the Grecian map until it collided with the black figure of a Fury. As the white figure of Hera smashed into the black Fury shattered into rubble instantly and the shadow around the stone Queen of Olympus and the dark wispy swirl returned to the hulking shadowy mass that was Erebus. The God of Shadows ran a piercing black hand through his grey smoky hair, his full grey lips twisted into an eerie leer which was aimed squarely at the fiery Lord of the Underworld.

_Dammit… _Hades cursed inwardly as his last knight was smashed to smithereens. He'd forgotten just how good his father was at chess. It didn't help that the smoky black God of Shadows was a master of the poker-face too… but as much as he loathed this titanic murky god right now Hades couldn't help but admire him at the same time. The fiery god had always idolized his dark father. Ever since he was a tiny godling growing up on the lower east side of the Underworld, which in those days had been known simply as Ais, Hades had always loved spending time with Erebus… In fact many of Hades' daily habits were things he had picked up and emulated from this dark shadowy god..

Hades placed the tips of his long index fingers together and lent forwards, his round golden eyes roaming the pieces on the board… but his mind wasn't really on the game. Both his parents had been pleased to hear about Persephone's pregnancy, Nyx especially.. After joyfully hugging her son and shedding some happy tears, the pale lilac-blue skinned Goddess of Night had then vanished off in a shimmer of white stars to go rummaging for some of Hades' old baby things. Deciding that it was best to leave the neurotic goddess to her rummaging the two Underworld gods had started their game of chess..

The fiery god finally picked up his queen, the black figure of Persephone, and swept it forward so it was now amongst a bishop, Athena, and a rook, Hermes, who were protecting Zeus. For a moment Hades kept his fingers on his piece, the general rule that the two gods played by was your turn wasn't over until you let go of your piece, satisfied by his move Hades finally retracted his hand.

Erebus' rounded grey orbs were aimed at the chessboard, the shadowy god was frowning at the move his son had just made… after a moment he clicked his tongue in disapproval then turned to his flame-haired son who was casually examining his fingernails.

At the sound of his father's criticism Hades' golden eyes snapped onto Erebus with a mixture of curiosity and caution. The smoky dark God of Shadows sighed heavily as his shadowy black fingers curled around his last knight, the figure of Apollo, and swept it in a L-shape movement that took a ridiculously long time considering it only moved three squares over and one down. His grey eyes swivelled to his son and scrutinized him before Erebus spoke in a low, creepy and almost mournful tone.

'Your heart really wasn't in this game, was it son?'

Hades merely blinked in response which caused Erebus to flash him that cool, calculated and slightly sinister leer that the fiery Lord of the Underworld envied.. Hades could never pull off that look, no matter how hard he tried he just looked like he had a really bad headache..

'_Checkmate_..' Erebus sounded as he released the fingers from the figure of Apollo and Hades' eyes swivelled stunned to the board… yes, he hadn't been paying attention but he hadn't been that blasé and handed his father the game? Two seconds of gawping in disbelief at the pieces told the fiery god that this was exactly what he had done…

…and Hades cursed loudly.. Erebus pretended he hadn't heard his son's profanity, instead the shadowy deity slammed his fist on the chessboard and all the pieces left vanished in a swirl of black smoke so now the board was clear.

Hades sighed heavily shaking his head.

'Yowza, I am really off my game ain't I?' The fiery god smirked, looking slightly sheepish.. Sure, his father could beat him but not this easily.. Erebus shrugged dismissively.

'It's no big deal kiddo..' The God of Shadows sounded, summoning a couple of cigars out of the darkness. '-there's more important things to worry about than this game..' The black hulking mass of shadow that Erebus was then passed his son one of the cigars, which Hades accepted and placed to his lips. As the fiery god flicked his thumb across the inside of his curled fingers, intending to light the smoke with a small flame on his thumb as usual, Erebus frowned deeply then startled his son by roaring,

'_Put that out!_' The massive shadowy god shook his grey smoky head as Hades extinguished his thumb with wide eyes firmly fixed on his father. 'If your gonna smoke a cigar, do it properly..' Erebus' tone was back to it's usual soft creepy self but there was an unmistakeable undertone of disapproval. Hades rolled his rounded yellow eyes wearily as Erebus pulled out a box of matches out of the darkness and lit one. The fiery god resisted the urge to comment on his father's inability to accept that the taste of the cigar was not going to be ruined by lighting it with his thumb… his father was old-fashioned and likely to smite him..

'Here..' Erebus murmured, leaning over and lighting his son's cigar before his own and taking a long drag. A lazy smirk snaked it's way across Hades' full blue lips as he sucked on his cigar… rich, tangy and a nice blend of flavour. The fiery god recognised a first-class smoke when he tasted it and he really didn't expect anything else to come from his father, Erebus wouldn't smoke anything else.. Hades then summoned two tumblers and a bottle of smooth nectar from his private stash. He poured some of the deep golden liquid into the glasses before sliding one towards his father who caught it. Erebus eyed the well-matured nectar approvingly before holding up his glass in a toast.

'To the baby..' He sounded with a wide grey-fanged smirk towards his son.

'The baby..' Hades repeated chinking his father's tumbler and both god's drained their glasses and slammed them on the chessboard. There was a moment of silence as both gods took a long lazy drag, lent back in their seats and exhaled deeply while sending cigar smoke everywhere. Hades was grateful that Persephone wasn't around, all this second-hand smoke would be bad-news for the baby..

'So..' Erebus sounded finally breaking the silence that had been spiralling. '-have you given any thought to where the nursery will be?' The God of Shadows studied his son while rolling his cigar between his fingers then taking a slow drag.

'Nursery?' Hades blinked confused before his tongue finally snapped into gear. 'Isn't it a bit early to be thinkin' about that?' The fiery god cocked an eyebrow at his father.

'Nonsense..' Erebus sounded in a cool stern voice. '-the Harvest is just over four months away and when your wife returns from her surface duties the souls will follow her..' The black mass of shadows paused to take another drag before continuing as he sent more smoke around the room. '-besides, now while the Underworld is quiet it's the perfect time to get prepared for the baby's arrival.' The God of Shadows flicked his cigar ash into the large ashtray that was sat in the middle of the chessboard. The fiery Lord of the Underworld nodded while rubbing his chin and pondering on what his father was suggesting.

'True..' Hades responded thoughtfully. '-and it would help to pass the boredom of the 'summer slump'.' The fiery god puffed his cigar still musing, it had been a long time since he had needed to do any kind of extensive D.I.Y project around his house but he loved a challenge… and the chance of working with his own two hands was not something he could pass up. But where to put the nursery?

* * *

…_meanwhile on the surface, a conversation of a similar nature was going on…_

'The baby will be due at the end of October right?' Demeter sounded as she studied the calendar before her.

'Yes..' Persephone sighed heavily, she rubbed her temples feeling a migraine building in her head. Painful migraines and hot flashes were the latest pregnancy assault on her body. Demeter had tried to convince her daughter these weren't normal pregnancy symptoms but Persephone was positive that she could handle whatever her pregnancy could throw at her. After all, this was all just preparing her for the child she would soon be the mother of..

'And since the Harvest is a little over four months away we better start thinking about preparations for the birth..' Demeter clutched her daughter's fingers. '-Hera has agreed to give you and Hades anti-natal classes when you return to the Underworld, the Sirens will have to be trained to act as mid-wives..' The Nature Goddess beamed at her daughter. '-don't worry sweetheart, by the time you return to the Underworld everything will be ready for your delivery..' Demeter blinked as this last word reminded her of something she had meant to ask her daughter.

'Speaking of deliveries, where were you planning to give birth anyway?' Persephone mused thoughtfully on this for a moment before answering.

'In the throne room..' The young goddess sounded. '-Hades won't like it but I think it'll be the most practical place.' Persephone paused, nodding thoughtfully as though confirming this to herself. The chessboard was wide enough to act as a delivery table and there was enough room and easy access for everybody who she needed to be there for the birth of her baby. Demeter nodded approvingly at her daughter's choice of delivery room then blinked as a sudden thought came to mind.

'So are you going to let the Fates tell you if it's a boy or a girl-'

'No!' Persephone frowned irritated, wondering why anybody would ever want to ruin the fun of the surprise. 'The less they have to do with our baby, the happier Hades will be..' The young goddess sounded in a disapproving tone as she thought about those three old crones. The Fates had a nasty habit of creating misery for their own entertainment… and they'd been pulling both hers and Hades' lifelines for years, they didn't need to start on their baby's too.

'Ok pumpkin..' Demeter raised her hands in defeat at her daughter's dark expression. '-I was just asking..' Persephone smiled apologetically before wincing as her migraine stabbed her head again. Demeter however now had her back to her daughter thinking deeply.

'Y'know..' She smiled widely at her daughter. '-I still have some of your old baby things..' Demeter sounded conversationally. '-why don't I just go look them out for you..' The Goddess of Nature then quickly bustled out of the room to go and locate the box she'd packed them away in.

The second her mother had left the room Persephone groaned despairingly and dropped her head onto the table with a small bang… her migraine was killing her. It was like Hephaestus was hammering her head with a chisel..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, the one good thing about having knee-deep snow outside and being stuck indoors because it is -15o__C outside is that I've had plenty of time to write.. I hope everybody is enjoying the first chap of A.A.F.E because chap2 will be up very soon XP… I hope everyone in Britain is enjoying the snow and not getting too down about it.. (at least we're gonna have a white Christmas this year!)_

_Those of you who have read G.W.I have already had a small glimpse into the complex relationship of Erebus and Hades… I hope everybody likes the conversations between parents and children because there will be plenty more… and like it's predecessor P.o.P there will be some other myths coming into play soon too (there is a hint of one that's coming very soon in this chap!).._

_Ooh, a little hint: all Persephone's pregnancy symptoms will help you figure out the identity of their baby…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy x_


	15. Woes of Gods we Know,,

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Fifteen:****Woes of Gods we Know..**

At the three month mark of pregnancy Hades and Persephone reluctantly agreed that they had to just bite the bolt and tell Zeus about the baby. They were amazed that nobody had actually bothered to tell the 'all knowing' Lord of Olympus about the soon-to-be new addition to the Underworld pantheon.. after all, even his own wife knew about the baby. The reason this _crucial_ piece of information had escaped Zeus' attention was because his mortal son Hercules had just become a father to a little boy named Hyllos. Both Underworld deities had heard about the birth of the young hero's new brat from Hermes and apparently the kid looked like a miniature version of Hercules with Meg's wide violet eyes, but so far he hadn't displayed anything to suggest he'd inherited any of his father's godly strength.. This pleased Hades. It meant that Hyllos was less likely to bother him when he got older.

Both Hades and Persephone had agreed that the daily Olympian council meeting was the best time to announce their new baby to all the gods, and unlike the Underworld morning meetings they weren't scheduled for first thing..

Zeus reacted to the news exactly as Hades predicted he would..

'You? A father?' The tanned Lord of Olympus suddenly burst into a fit of hysterics.. 'Hah! That's rich Hades..' He choked as the fiery Lord of the Underworld flared irritably.

'What's so funny about that?' The fiery god sounded with an air of offence, his orange flames climbed higher as his 'so-called-brother' was trying to control his sniggers.

'Well, don't take this the wrong way..' Zeus sounded still wearing a wide smirk. '-but you don't strike me as the parental type..' The Lord of the Underworld glared harder at the tanned god, who winced as Hera elbowed him in the ribs.

'Dear..' The lilac-skinned Queen of the Gods sounded in a firm tone. '-try to be a little more supportive..'

'What?' Zeus sounded looking at his wife bemused. '-I'm just saying I feel sorry for the kid that's all..' Hera glared at him, folding her arms and pouting at her husband..

'Well I think bringing new life into the Underworld is a good thing..' Hestia piped up from her place beside her sister.

'Whoa, whoa..' Hades sounded making a 'slow down' gesture. '-it's justa kid let's not go nuts..' The last thing he needed was the souls getting ideas, they had the Elysian Fields for that.

'I agree with Hestia..' Athena sounded from her seat beside her red-skinned brother. '-the Underworld can only benefit from this..' She then turned to Hades and Persephone, the young Queen of the Underworld seemed to be sweating profusely and fanning herself furiously with a small fan. '-I'm pleased for you both.' The Goddess of Wisdom smiled warmly at the two Underworld deities.

'Yeh..' Ares chipped in excitedly. '-kids are great. You can teach them to hate the things you hate!' He thumped his fist on the table beaming. Hades merely raised a brow at the red-skinned God of War.

'Oh please..' The fiery god drawled rolling the rounded golden eyes thinking of Ares' two idiotic sons. '-if my kid ends up anything like your two lazy-schlubs I'll disown it-'

'Have you had any cravings yet?' Artemis sounded keenly to Persephone before Demeter could reprimand Hades for his words.

'No, not yet..' The Goddess of Life said thinking she had enough problems with her wildly swinging body heat and pounding headaches never mind enduring freaky eating habits as well.

'Persephone..' Demeter sounded concerned placing the back of her hand on her sweaty daughter's forehead, her body temperature was shockingly high.. '-your burning up!' The young goddess sighed heavily, still fanning herself desperately.

'I know, I know..' She sounded resignedly. '-but it's these damn hot flushes, I just can't seem to get them under control..' Demeter clutched her daughter's sweaty fingers and squeezed them gently.

'Oh pumpkin, I wish you'd let someone check you over..' Demeter sounded, she didn't like seeing her daughter suffer..

'I'll be fine..' Persephone sounded irritably, the last thing she wanted was Apollo or Artemis poking around her abdomen and making disapproving noises. '-I just need to get out of the sun for a little while..' She then groaned and the fan in her hand dropped slightly. Hades instantly swivelled his flaming head in her direction at these words, recognising a 'Get-Off-Olympus-Now' excuse when he heard it… and the blue fiery god did not hesitate to take full advantage.

'Well I reckon few hours by the Pool of Lethe oughta cool you down Sephy..' Hades raised his brows suggestively. Persephone knew that he was just hinting that he wanted get out of there but the idea of a few hours in the coolest area of the Underworld was her idea of Elysium… unfortunately she did have a job to do..

'Go on sweetheart..' Demeter sounded softly and right on cue. '-I can handle spring for a day..' Persephone flashed her mother a grateful smile then swivelled to her husband with a smirk.

'Ok sweetie..' She purred causing Hades' golden eyes to narrow. '-you've twisted my arm, let's go..'

'Hah! Boom-boom baby..' Hades declared in his usual exuberant style complete with blazing blue flames. '-and… we… are… _outta here!_' He then seized his pregnant wife by the hips, pulling her against him and lowering his lips to hers. The second the two deities locked lips they vanished together in a swirl of smoke. The moment the Underworld couple had vanished Hermes shuffled his scrolls and cleared his throat importantly.

'Alright people, any more new business?' He asked cheerfully.

'Yes..' Aphrodite sounded irritably from her seat beside her husband Hephaestus. '-that brat Psyche tricked my Cupid into stabbing himself with a love arrow and now he refuses to make her pay for insulting me..' The pink-skinned Goddess of Love then pulled a sarcastic mushy-lovesick-look. '-'But I love her mom.. I don't want to see her get hurt-'.. _that's not you Cupid, that's just the friggin' arrow talking!_' She paused breathing heavily causing the gods around the table to gaze apprehensively at her…and Hephaestus sighed heavily.

'Honey..' He spoke in a slow, calm and soothing voice. '-your making a scene..'

'Of course I am!' Aphrodite shrieked before eyeing her husband crossly. 'That little hussy has turned my own son against me!' The goddess' bright pink aura was pulsing furiously at Hephaestus who merely shook his head with disbelief at her ludicrous allegation.

Zeus groaned at the thought of having to sit through another argument.

'Oh, I hate these council meetings..' The Lord of Olympus moaned, his head slumping onto the table.

* * *

With his wife happily settled by the Pool of Lethe with her rebirth applications and a cooling iced nectar Hades returned to the task that was going to help pass the long 'summer slump'… fixing up the baby's nursery.

The fiery god had deliberated long and hard on where to place the nursery and he finally decided that the baby could have Persephone's old bedroom. Since he and his wife now shared living quarters her old room had done nothing but gather dust, plus the room was directly opposite their own bedroom it was the perfect place for the baby.

Once Hades had figured this part out he began sketching out ideas on how the nursery could look. He made several drawings before settling on the right one and transferring the design to a detailed blue scroll, which he let his wife take a gander at. Once Persephone approved of his ideas and added a few alterations of her own the fiery Lord of the Underworld set to work on building the baby's room…

Hades hummed cheerfully as he studied the blue scroll in front of him before lowering it and gazing out over the now empty room in front of him. After getting rid of all the furniture from the bedroom the whole place was now one big blank canvas to work with. Although the fiery god had decided to save a few choice pieces he was planning to build the baby's crib and a few other bits and pieces himself.. There was nothing like adding a personal touch and since this was _his_ baby, it deserved the extra effort.

Satisfied by the small amount of progress that he had made to the room so far Hades turned his attention to the condition of the bedroom walls. It had been some time since he had even bothered to update the rendering in this room, as a result the décor was just crumbling away from the walls. The fiery god sighed heavily as the chalky dull grey walls seemed to just disintegrate in his large bluish fingers.

'Hmm..' Hades sounded thoughtfully, wiping his hand to get rid of the leftover powdery residue on his fingers. '-better scorch it back before I add the new coat..' He uttered to himself before summoning a fireball in his right-hand. It swirled brightly in-between his fingers as Hades weighed up where best to start.. Once he selected the prime location to begin blasting back the walls he let his flames loose on the room.

There was nothing more enjoyable to the fiery Lord of the Underworld than working with his own two hands…

* * *

While Hades was demolishing and restoring the neglected bedroom Persephone slouched lower into her sun lounger, still trying to relax.. Every so often the sound of her husband's wall blasting caused the young Queen of the Underworld to glance around and smile towards the window of her former bedroom, pleased her husband was enjoying himself..

She sighed heavily then shifted uncomfortably. Persephone just couldn't get comfortable on the greying stone lounger, however it wasn't her seat that was bothering her. At three months pregnant the young goddess' abdomen already had a small bulge.. Her tiny swell only made her look slightly bloated at best but her strapless black chiton was very restricting.. So much so that Persephone felt that it was time to create herself a new chiton that would give her the freedom she needed and her bump room to grow.

After sifting through her rebirth forms and signing her approval at the bottom of the appropriate forms. She'd send the souls back to the surface later… but for now, she really had to take this unyielding chiton off. The young goddess made a noise of relief when she unclipped the chiton causing the soft black material to fall away from her body, freeing her abdomen from it's confines. Moving her hair so that it covered the more alluring parts of her body the young goddess felt that she could now _truly_ relax..

She placed a hand absent-mindedly on her abdomen smiling faintly as she stroked her hand soothingly over the small swell of her stomach, imagining that maybe in some small way that her tiny baby might appreciate the gesture.. Persephone then lent back in her sun lounger and took a long draught of iced nectar and smiled contentedly… then she pulled a blank scroll out of a swirl of orbs and began to doodle some ideas for a maternity chiton..

* * *

As the spring rolled into summer work in the Underworld came to it's usual standstill but the shadowy realms were far from boring.. Cerberus, who had finally reached sexual maturity was becoming an even bigger nuisance than he had been before. He had become completely territorial over the eastern banks of the Styx barking aggressively and spitting drool at anybody who even glanced in his direction which meant that Charon was now having to steer clear of him when rowing passed.. Both the Harpies and Furies were refusing to even come down from their shadowy nests in the cliffs of the Underworld because three-headed mutt kept trying to violate anything that moved and was the right size for him to get his leg over… everything else that was small and scurried around was nothing more than a squeaky chew toy for the adolescent mutt to play with…

If this wasn't bad enough for the imps and Sirens, Persephone's hot flushes and migraines were getting worse, the expecting goddess was starting to find her pregnancy emotionally exhausting.. She was also starting to suspect that migraines were linked to the baby's mood swings while the hot flushes were a sign that the little one had inherited a flaming cranium from it's daddy.. If that was the case it was only a matter of time before the foetus began scorching her internal organs and if Prometheus was anything to go by… it was going to be very painful.. She still hadn't felt any cravings for any particular foods but Persephone had started wearing her maternity chitons now, a simple black halter-neck held together with a large skull pin just below her heavy bosom and her small bump was just visible under the long flowing floor length chiton… it made her look both maternal and foreboding at the same time.

Between a horny mutt, a hormonal wife and a realm full of terrified minions Hades found that working on the baby's nursery had become his sanctuary from the madness that had fallen over his home. The fiery god had toyed very briefly with the idea of getting Cerberus 'fixed' but he had found that their were a few small advantages to the three-headed mutt's new temperamental persona…

…Alpha, the few souls in that arrived in the Underworld were terrified of Cerberus which meant that it took very little to convince the new stiffs to jump into the Styx and get on with their afterlives..

…Beta, the three-headed hound was terrifying minions, always a plus point in Hades' eyes, and as a result the five mush-headed imps and Sirens were no longer squabbling as escaping Cerberus' jaws was more important… and what was even more amazing was that the five of them were working together on this one. His mutt was a genius!

…Gamma, despite his aggressive behaviour with the souls and underlings of the Underworld Cerberus remained gentle with Persephone and seemed hell-bent on following her around like a personal bodyguard snarling at anything that tried to get near her.. It was almost as if the dog could sense she was more vulnerable now..

..besides, Hades found himself liking this new and improved Cerberus. He reminded the fiery god of himself… in a weird and twisted kind of way..

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey everyone, I'm trying to move through the pregnancy as fast as I can as the main plot of the story doesn't happen until Persephone is back in the Underworld, although there are a few parts I really want to write about first… I'm hoping to have the next chap up before Christmas.. XP_

_Take Care…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	16. Enter Psyche, the Heartbroken Mortal

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Sixteen:****Enter Psyche, the Heartbroken Mortal**

'Oh isn't this cute..' Persephone cooed, pulling out a tiny white chiton from her boxes of baby things. With the baby's nursery starting to take shape both Persephone and Hades had started raiding through their old baby clothes and toys for things they could use when their little one finally arrived.

Hades raised a brow at the little white dress that his wife had pulled out of her own box of baby things.

'Err..' Hades sounded unsurely, looking at the floaty light chiton. '-it's not exactly _traditional_ Underworld garb is it?' The fiery god replied, thinking that the baby would stick out like a sore thumb if it was dressed in something as bright and breezy as the chiton his wife was now holding out in front of him.

'I know but if we don't compromise on some things we won't have anything for the baby..' Persephone sounded in a beseeching tone before lowering the tiny chiton into her lap..

'Re-lax Seph..' Hades smirked amused by his wife's worried look. '-the baby ain't coming outta there anytime soon.. we got _plenty_ of time..' Persephone sighed rolling her eyes light-heartedly at her husband's words.

'Seriously sweetie, we need to pick out girls things as well as boys..' The young Queen of the Underworld absent-mindedly placed a hand on her bump, stroking it gently. '-after all, we don't know what this baby will be..'

'It'll be a boy..' Hades instantly responded confidently causing his wife's brow to arch in disbelief at his words.

'Oh..' She sounded, her lips curling with slight amusement. '-what makes you think that?' Persephone was quite interested in hearing his reason for believing this.

'Genetics..' The fiery god sounded pulling a navy blue and black dungaree-toga set complete with tiny silver skull chiton pins. He raised his brows in a silent questioning 'yes or no' expression.

'_Genetics?_' Persephone scoffed trying to stifle her giggles, snatching Hades' baby chiton off of her husband and folding it neatly before placing it in the pile for a baby boy, which was somewhat larger than their baby girl pile.

'Yeh..' Hades' eyes narrowed and he leaned into his wife, his toothy smirk had returned. '-in this family, guys come first..' Persephone giggled and tossed the dainty white chiton at her husband's face, Hades caught it before tossing it airily on the baby girl pile.

'Is that right..' She responded, managing to regain composure. '-you wanna bet on that mister..' The young goddess jabbed her husband in the chest.

'Ooh..' Hades' smirk widened as he leaned in and continued in a low and breathy tone. '-what're the stakes my sweet..' Persephone's bright green eyes narrowed now as she returned his diabolical smirk with a little twisted smile of her own.

'How 'bout this..' She sounded in a sultry tone. '-if you win and the baby's a boy you can name him.. _but_, if I win and the baby's a girl I will name her..' Hades paused, rubbing his long chin thoughtfully as he deliberated over his wife's proposal.

'Hmm… interesting.. interesting..' The fiery god mused as he chewed over his options before deciding to just wing it. 'Ahh, y'know what, to Tartarus with it.. your on sweet-cheeks..' He held out his right hand to his wife so they could make the wager official. Persephone smiled girlishly at her husband and eagerly accepted the gesture and they shook hands.

'What the-?' Persephone blinked confused as their enclosed hands were instantly enveloped in a glowing bright blue aura and a strange tingly feeling shot up her arm.. The moment she pulled her hand away from her husband's the eerie connection between them broke.

'Heh..' Hades instantly grinned a sheepish smirk. '-sorry babe, force of habit… how 'bout we just start over 'kay..' He then slid his arms around his wife's swollen waist and pulled her towards him then began kissing her slowly. Persephone made a small noise of surprise before relaxing at kissing her husband back, her fingers sliding up into his blue flames.

'Err… sorry to butt in on your schmoozing..' A timid voice suddenly sounded causing both Hades and Persephone to instantly break off their passionate smooch and turn simultaneously towards the owner of the voice both surprised and slightly displeased… Both imps were looking nervous while wearing simpering grins. Hades sighed deeply, irritated that even after decades of service in the Underworld these two incompetent nitwits still couldn't handle a simple stiff..

'-but there's a situation downstairs that needs your immediate attention..' Panic stuttered anxiously, finishing his sentence as his bug-eyes diverted to the floor so he didn't have to look his boss in the eye, he hated having to interrupt their private time.

'So what..' Hades sounded airily trying to suppress his smouldering annoyance at this interruption. '-somebody send us a live one again?' The fiery god joked not really thinking that this was the case..

'Uh, yeh..' Pain sounded staring at Hades dumbfounded, he then blinked and spoke again. '-how did you know that boss?' Hades smouldered a light shade of orange… peachy, just what he always wanted, _a house guest.._

'A lucky guess..' The fiery god sounded before sighing heavily and returning blue. '_Oh_-_kay_..' He groaned inwardly. '-let's just get this over with _quickly_.. what's his name and what does he want.'

'She..' Panic automatically corrected him causing Hades' yellow eyes to widen in shock.

'Excuse me?' He sounded staring with disbelief at the imp..

'It's a girl..' Pain sounded eagerly. Both Hades and Persephone exchanged a look of surprise… the Underworld had only ever had male mortal visitors before, being that only men were stupid enough to even think about taking on the perilous trek down into the realm of Hades.

'Ok, ok, ok, _fiine_..' Hades responded irritably, brushing off his disbelief and continuing.. it wasn't as if the mortal's gender was going to make a difference anyway. '-what is _her_ name and does _she _want?'

'Her name is Psyche..' Panic sounded importantly before deflating back into his usual quivering mess.. '-but uh, she uh, she's not here to see you boss..'

'_What?_' Hades sounded with incredulity, his flames blazing a very brief shade of white-hot yellow in shock. Pain twisted his tail nervously before continuing from where his green partner had broken off.

'She wants to speak with Miss Persephone..'

'She does?' The young goddess looked instantly bemused by this. 'What does she want to see me about?' Persephone asked the imps gently.

'We dunno..' Panic answered her with a small shrug. '-she wouldn't say-'

'-she just said that Aphrodite sent her and it was important..' Pain chipped in brightly causing Persephone to roll her eyes irritably at the mention of the Love Goddess' name..

'Uh..' The young pregnant goddess groaned, hauling herself to her feet reluctantly.. '-I better go see what she wants then..' The young goddess sighed heavily then rested a hand against her baby bump.

'Hey..' Hades smirked widely at his wife. '-while you do that I think I'll mull over some baby names..' His brows contracted suggestively and Persephone rolled her eyes again, this time at her husband's confidence in wining this newly-placed wager over their baby's gender..

'You do that..' She sounded with before leaving the room.

'Your thinking of baby names already?' Pain blurted out in amazement, neither imp of course had no idea about the bet.

'Aww..' Panic gushed emotionally. '-that's so cute..'

A torrent of flames sent them crashing into the nearest wall.

'_Don't call me cute!_' Hades' voice bellowed furiously.

* * *

'Oh just ignore him..' Persephone sounded waving an arm airily, dismissing the loud crash that had sounded from above the throne room which had made Psyche jump with fright. The mortal's soft blue eyes widened in shock as she whipped around to face the white-skinned goddess.

'So you're the girl that has Aphrodite's chiton in a twist..' Persephone ran an eye over Psyche's creamy skin, light golden hair and curvy figure all wrapped up in a modest minty green chiton. She made a mental note to make sure her husband did not get a peek at this little package.. since she was the size of a watermelon the last thing her husband needed was temptation from some skinny bit.

'I swear.. I never meant to upset her..' Psyche suddenly piped up looking upset by the mention of the Love Goddess' name. '-I didn't even want those people to worship me-'

Persephone held up a hand and Psyche fell silent.

'Okay, okay… I don't need to hear your life story just yet sweetie..' The Queen of the Underworld sighed then gestured to her baby bump. '-in case you haven't noticed I got my own little problem to worry about.' Psyche blinked then let her eyes travel down to the goddess' neat little baby bump. She wished that she could have the kind of happiness that Persephone obviously shared with her husband.. Psyche had been happy once, until Aphrodite had come along and ripped it all away from her… so now here she was, a servant to the Goddess of Love and her hopes of ever seeing her true love again were next to nothing.. She wished she'd never been born beautiful, her beauty had been nothing but a curse..

Persephone tilted her head curiously towards the mortal girl, the Queen of the Underworld had never come across such a defeated looking soul before.. Then something inside Persephone stirred as Psyche wiped a tear away demurely... pity. Persephone recognised the look on her face… she had worn it herself six years ago when she had been forcefully separated from Hades for six months. There had been nights when she'd never thought she'd see him again and days where she looked exactly as Psyche looked right now..

'Look..' The goddess sighed heavily, remembering what Hermes had told her about Cupid the other day. '-I know how you feel ok, my mother forced me away from my husband too..' She uttered causing Psyche to suddenly look up at her. She of course, knew the stories behind Persephone and Hades' marriage and she heard that the Goddess of Life was more grounded than her fiery other half but she hadn't expected Persephone to be so kind to her..

'-but she came around in the end, and Aphrodite will too.' Persephone sounded softly and took the young girl's free hand in her dainty white hand. 'You just have to keep your faith otherwise Aphrodite wins.' Persephone smiled at her, causing the mortal girl before her to flash a very brief small smile in return..

'So…' The Queen of the Underworld sounded, wanting to get back to business, taking the box out of Psyche's grip and holding it up. '-what does Aphrodite want me to do with this?'

'She uh..' Psyche suddenly stiffened with anxiety, dreading how the goddess was going to react to the Aphrodite's request. '-wants you to put your beauty into it..'

Persephone's eyes widened in shock at these words then after a moment of trying to swallow them she frowned, irritated by what Aphrodite wanted..

'She.. _What!_'

* * *

Hades was holding out a baby name scroll and looking down the long list of boys names for inspiration..

'Let's see..' He muttered to himself thoughtfully as his large golden eyes travelled down the list.

…Brimos…_ Meh, not without it's charm but not really what I'm looking for._

…Plutus… _Oh yeehhh, cause that'll scare the imps… not!_

…Zagreus… _Ewww, sounds too much like Zeus._

…Ickachos… _Oh come on.. now who in Tartarus is gonna call their kid that!_

Hades snorted at the list of names so far.. they weren't want he was looking for at all. He wanted something that strikes fear into his minions hearts whenever they hear it… after all, if it was a boy he wasn't gonna let it grow up to be a big sissy like that lot upstairs. The fiery god then turned back to his list of baby names and began to search for something a little more sinister. Two names from the list stuck out immediately:

Mors and Thanatos… both names would easily cause his minions to tremble with fear in the presence of his kid, and with a name like one of these two the mortals would probably fear him too… that was a bonus.

While Hades was deliberating which name would suit his son better there was the sound of a slamming door. Jumping startled by the loud noise the fiery god swivelled around to see Persephone storm passed the doorway to his den carrying a foreign box and muttering under her breath,

'How dare she… lousy Goddess of Love isn't getting any of _my_ beauty..'

Deciding to ditch the baby-name-debate for the moment Hades got out of his black bony lounging chair and tailed after his wife… this was much more interesting.. Hades eventually found Persephone in the Infectious Diseases Lab which was located opposite the imps private room. The young goddess was raiding the contents of the cupboards as though she were looking for something.

'Err…' Hades sounded, looking confused by his wife. '-what are ya doing Sephykins?'

'Where is the Nighty-Night potion?' Persephone suddenly whipped around and shot at her husband. Hades blinked, not following why his wife would want a sleeping potion.

'Third shelf to the left..' The fiery god answered pointing to the glass bottle she wanted. Persephone smiled briefly at her husband in gratitude before snatching the bottle of purple liquid off the shelf. She the held out her hand as if to summon something… but nothing happened. Persephone looked briefly perplexed before trying again… once more, nothing happened. Hades suddenly looked concerned..

'Seph, what's wrong-' The fiery god began to ask but Persephone shooshed him and began to rub her temples uttering to herself,

'Ok… easy.. easy… a deep breath-' Which she did, '-and..', the young goddess jerked her hand and a tub of cold facial cream appeared out of a swirl of black orbs. '-perfect.' Persephone sounded happily picking up the cold cream and unscrewing the lid.

Hades blinked, stunned by the lack of bright orbs.

'Ok, what was that..' Hades sounded concerned while reaching forward and gripping his wife's hand before the young goddess could pick up the sleeping potion.

'What was what?' Persephone blinked, bemused by her husband's troubled expression.

'That! Just now when you couldn't summon that tub of cream..' Hades looked seriously worried now.. '-and what's up with your orbs?'

'Oh _that.._' Persephone spoke as the realisation of what was bothering her husband hit her. '-my powers have just been acting a bit weird recently..' She waved it off dismissively as though it wasn't important but Hades ploughed on relentlessly.

Seph! When did this start happening?' He still sounded frantic about this new pregnancy development.

'Uh, a week ago…' Persephone shrugged sheepishly before adding in a bright tone, as if trying to reassure her husband. '-but Hera says it's perfectly natural for powers to act up during pregnancy, especially now in the second trimester when the baby starts developing it's own powers..' Rather than look reassured, Hades looked even more frantic by this news.

'_A _week? _A week? You've known about this for a week and you didn't tell me?_' Hades sounded almost hysterical.

'I didn't want you to worry..' Persephone rolled her eyes at his overreaction to this information. '-it's no big deal sweetie..'

'It's a very big deal!' Hades snapped. 'What if Hecate finds out your powerless, hmm?'

'I'm not powerless..' Persephone retorted. '-my powers are just on the fritz because I've got a baby growing inside of me and our powers are connected..'

'Whatever, just promise me that ya won't let Hecate find out about this 'kay.. I don't trust that witch, she's been too quiet lately..' Hades turned and gazed out the window towards the far side of the Styx where the nether regions were located. That witch must be up to something because she wasn't sticking her oar into their business like she usually did..

'Don't worry sweetie..' Persephone sounded soothingly, wrapping her arms around his middle. '-I promise she won't find out.' Hades smiled at her before turning his eyes to the innocent bottle of Nighty-Night potion on the table.

'So… whatta ya need this for?' Hades asked his wife who sighed in irritation and took the bottle off of him.

'Aphrodite wants some of my beauty because apparently looking after Eris is sapping hers away..' Persephone snorted, a likely story. '-but she isn't getting any of mine, just because I'm pregnant it doesn't mean I won't need it.' The young goddess rolled her eyes before unscrewing the lid to the sleeping potion and holding it over the cold cream.

'Hmm..' Hades mused thoughtfully before smirking at his wife. '-are ya sure this ain't just some test for the mortal downstairs?' He sounded in a low voice causing Persephone to blink taking in his words. She then shrugged before adding about a teaspoon of the Nighty-Night potion into the cold cream and stirring then she emptied the entire contents of the tub into the little box she had taken from Psyche.

'Meh.. either way one of them will be getting plenty of beauty sleep soon..' She uttered carelessly, closing the lid of the box, kissing her husband on the cheek and disappearing off with the box in her hands. Hades only shook his flaming head amused… his wife could be so cruel sometimes..

* * *

Little Notes:

_Hey Everybody, this will be the last update of this story before the twenty-fifth so have a good Christmas, Hanukah, ect.. I hope you like the little dig at the numerous names that were given to Hades' son in myth. I'm not saying anything else on the baby in my notes because I don't want to give it away so good luck with your guesses.._

_Take Care…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy xXx_


	17. That little Baby of Mine

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Seventeen:****That little Baby of Mine**

As the five month mark of Persephone's pregnancy rolled passed the pregnant goddess was discovering that her unborn little one was definitely developing a mind of it's own... The young Goddess of Life could now tell exactly what kind of mood her baby was in by feelings in her body. When the baby was happy Persephone felt a pleasurable leaping and her body filled up with warmth, like sunshine was radiating from inside her.. then when the baby was angry or upset Persephone's temperature soared bringing on the hot flushes and pounding migraines… but the young Queen of the Underworld liked it best when the baby was asleep. This was when nothing happened at all and she always made the most of the peace and quiet..

However Persephone's power situation was another issue entirely.. Since both she and the baby were inhabiting the same body the pregnant goddess found that her powers were a little temperamental, especially since they didn't quite react the way they were meant to anymore. Right now they were almost alien to her.. Her usual brilliant white orbs were now smoky black and the young Queen of the Underworld had accidentally sent out a torrent of fire from her fingertips in a moment of frustration and startled herself. This wasn't really an issue to Persephone, after all these were obviously powers the baby had inherited from it's daddy, however while she was on the surface the little one's 'interfering' was affecting her work.. These were clearly powers designed to cause destruction and of course would have been fine but it was Persephone's job to preserve life not kill it.. As a result the young goddess caused a few more accidents than usual as she tried to get to grips with these new adjustments to her powers.

Persephone sighed heavily as she looked around the familiar surrounding of her childhood home. There were only a few weeks left until the Harvest festival and usually the Goddess of Life could be found with her mother helping everybody to get ready to celebrate. But in light of both her 'condition' and her lack of 'power-discipline' Demeter had felt that it was best if she stayed here… at least at home Persephone would be safe and not be a danger to herself or anyone else. Besides, her mother and her husband were only a call away if she really needed them.

To pass the long late summer sun Persephone tended to the flowers in her grove just using her two hands… she didn't want to risk destroying her precious plants with the baby's destructive gifts. She kept her most treasured breeds in this sacred grove, many of which could not be found anywhere else in the cosmos, not even the Underworld. Some were plants she had once created when she was a little girl and she liked to keep them around because they made her reminisce about her childhood… when life was simpler.

The Goddess of Life smiled fondly at all her little flowers, she then plucked out a few stray seedlings, or as her mother would call them: weeds… Persephone hated the term 'weeds' because in her opinion there was no such thing as an unwanted plant. Her grove was filled with plants that others deemed 'weeds' and whenever possible Persephone tried to grow these 'weeds' wherever the opportunity arose. Her personal favourite was an amusing little plant which had been dubbed 'Sticky Willow' because whenever you brushed against it, the long stringy green plant stuck to your chiton and it's tiny round seeds were particularly hard to get off, she had lots of it in amongst her bushes and trees..

Moving the little seedlings away from her starflowers and primroses the young goddess began to plant them in a cool spot where they could go in peace without being disturbed again. Persephone beamed as she tucked them into the soft brown soil then admired their frail little forms tenderly. Satisfied that the little seedlings would be very content with their new home the pregnant goddess turned back around to her navy starflowers and pale primroses.

Persephone shifted herself carefully into a more comfortable position, her baby bump was starting swell as her little one had begun to grow and moving around was starting to become a little awkward. The pregnant goddess sighed satisfied by her new position and happily began to play around with her flowers while idly dreaming about what her baby might be.. She really hoped that the little bundle of mischief in her womb was a girl. Not only because she wanted to win the bet but because she'd always wanted a little girl.. However Persephone was having trouble thinking of a name for her baby. The expectant goddess had always imagined that her daughter would have powers similar to her and she wanted to name that little girl Macaria, but if this child was a girl she didn't think it would suit the baby's budding personality.. Persephone thought that since the baby seemed to be developing Underworldly powers inherited from their father it deserved a name that suited it..

Persephone suddenly gasped out as the lily she had been tending to suddenly gave a small shudder and began to wither away. The Goddess of Life sighed irritably, her baby did seem to enjoy making things difficult for her. Pulling the dead plant out of the ground she watched as it just wither away then she sprinkled the dried up plant onto the rest of her flowers. This touch of death had only just manifested itself recently and Persephone was still trying to get used to it.. She then felt a small jolt in her abdomen and froze in surprise… the goddess then lowered a hand to her bump and it happened again, this time she felt a thud against her hand.

_The baby's first kick_… Persephone couldn't help but grin excitedly. She had to go and down to the Underworld and see Hades. The goddess then frowned, remembering that she wasn't supposed to orb off anywhere because it might be stressful for the little one… then right on cue she felt a little twinge in her abdomen and she smiled at her bump… maybe her baby could handle one tiny little orb-trip down to visit daddy. After all, he must have finished off the nursery by now and maybe she could get a little sneaky-peek at the finished article. Without even bothering to get to her feet Persephone vanished in a swirl of smoky orbs..

* * *

In the Underworld things were quiet. While the Sirens were on 'laundry duty' the imps had been playing ping-pong with an eyeball to substitute the ball which they'd lost years ago. At the time both imps had been too afraid to ask Hades for a new ball and since the eyeball made a great substitute they saw little point in bothering him now.

'My point..' Pain sounded gleefully as his partner missed the eyeball which bounced across the floor of the throne room.

'No way..' Panic sounded. '-that was out!' The green imp pouted irritably.

'It was not!' Pain snapped.

'Was too!' Panic snarled.

'Was not!'

'Was too!' Both imps began to size each other up and glaring irritably.. These games always brought out a competitive side to them. Then their argument was suddenly interrupted.

'Can we play?' A female voice sounded and both boys turned to see the three Sirens standing there smiling, Tele was holding the eyeball in her slim minty-green fingers.

Both Pain and Panic blinked stunned by her words before shaking roughly and laughing.. All three Sirens frowned at the boys.

'Pfft… no..' Panic sounded when the imps finally stopped laughing.

'This is a guy's game!' Pain said in a matter-of-factly tone, folding his arms against his chest.

The Sirens blinked and then glanced at each other sharing a look of disbelief.

'Ping-pong ball is a guys game?' Raidne asked raising a brow looking bemused.

'Uh… yeh..' Panic spoke up, trying to rescue their cause. '-you have to be a real man to play ping-pong..'

'Yeh..' Pain said with a slight frown, not really following his partner's argument but it sounded impressive so he went along with it.

'Oh please..' Tele sounded waving her hand dismissively. '-that is so sexist!'

'Your just scared that we would whip your butt..' Molpe jeered picking up one of the spare paddles and waving it to emphasis her point.

'You could not!' Pain snarled crossly pointing his paddle.

'Could so!' Raidne snapped picking up a paddle too.

'Oh yeh..' Both imps jeered.

'Yeh..' The two Sirens screeched back.

'Well bring it on then sister!' Panic snapped angrily. Tele smirked at these words… outsmarting the guys was just _waaay_ too easy.

'Ok Panic..' Tele smirked then tossed the eyeball to the skinny green imp. 'Game on..'

* * *

Hades was stood in the doorway of the baby's nursery, he smiled proudly at the room that had taken him the best part of summer to put into order but it had been worth it. He couldn't wait for his wife to return so he could finally show it off to her. She was going to love it..

The next second Hades blinked as a swirl of dark smoky orbs spun into the room and as they merged together his now heavy pregnant wife appeared out of the darkness. After a brief moment of disorientation she blinked and beamed at her husband.

'Hi sweetie..' She sounded chirpily which caused Hades to frown at her.

'_Seph_..' The fiery god sounded in a gentle but firm tone raising a brow at his wife. '-I thought we agreed that you weren't gonna orb off anywhere until the kid was born?'

'I know but I really needed to see you..' Persephone sounded excitedly then suddenly gripped her husband by the wrist and putting his hand against her bump.

'Babe, I missed ya too but can't this wait until-' Hades broke off from his words as he felt a strange movement from beneath his hand. He blinked stunned by this unexpected movement, in the moment that he was frozen in shock the baby moved again. The second movement seemed to jerk Hades out of his shock..

'It just started kicking a few moments ago..' Persephone's voice sounded softly, her eyes brimming with delight. A grin slowly began to work it's way across Hades' face and the god who had once claimed that he had no heart felt nothing but love.. his baby was really alive in there. This was the first piece of personal contact he had received from his little baby and he slowly massaged Persephone's swollen abdomen as if to silently let the baby know that it's daddy was here.. The young Queen of the Underworld sighed pleasantly as the now familiar fuzzy warm feeling filled her stomach, clearly the baby liked the attention that Hades was giving it.

'So is the nursery ready?' Persephone sounded conversationally and in an instant the spell that had been keeping her husband's attention on his unborn child was broken.. Hades' pupils came back into focus and he blinked before his golden eyes swivelled on his wife's face. A twisted grin appeared on his full blue his and the fiery god gestured towards the room and Persephone turned around to look around the baby's bedroom.

'Oh wow..' Persephone sighed as she took her first proper look at the finished nursery. The crib was made of the same black twisted metal that Hades had used to forge his chariot out of and it's curved design was stunning as well as being child friendly, it was nice to see her husband had not forgot safety in his design ideas. She slowly turned, trying to take in the whole room. The walls were the usual stone grey colour and the drapes were a deep navy blue colour. There was a black bony-rocking chair in a similar design to Hades' lounging chair in the den, her old stone chest of drawers and wardrobe had been remodelled to suit the new room design and there was a heavy stone changing table near the back of the room.

'Whadda ya think huh?' Hades' voice sounded keenly. 'Did your man deliver or did he _deliver?_' Persephone turned and smiled widely at her husband.

'Oh, my man _definitely_ delivered..' She smirked causing her husband's golden eyes to narrow with pleasure at her words.

'You like it then..' The fiery god smirked back, thrilled by his wife's delighted features.

'I love it..' Persephone exclaimed turning to her husband and wrapped her arms around his neck kissing him eagerly on the lips. Surprised but pleased Hades returned the embrace..

After a long luscious, passion-stirring kiss Persephone noticed something on the stone toy-shelf behind her husband. Pulling away from Hades the pregnant goddess reached up to the shelf and picked up the toy that had sparked her interest. It was an incredibly old stuffed toy skeleton. It looked well-loved as it's arms were slightly worn-out and it had a little stuffing poking out a small hole in it's side, but the stuffed toy still made Persephone smile fondly at it.

'This is cute..' The goddess turned to her husband. Instantly the fiery god seemed to suddenly look a little uncomfortable.

'Heh, yeh..' Hades responded, pulling the neck of his chiton. '-that's Mr Skelton..' His cheeks flushed a brief pink colour before he continued, '-my mom found him the other day and I uh, thought the kid might like him..'

'Mr Skelton?' Persephone raised a brow before studying the worn-out skeleton to see what repairs were needed to make it good as new.

'Ah c'mon…' Hades shrugged nonchalantly. '-I was three and I hadn't quiet figured out how to say 'skeleton' yet..' Persephone made a noise of amusement then took her husband by the hand.

'Tell you what, why don't I repair your little friend here..' The young goddess smiled at her husband, holding up Mr Skelton. '-and you..' Persephone gently poked her husband in the chest. '-can fix me a snack, I'm starving.' She then lead him out of the nursery.

'Heh, let me guess..' Hades smirked amused. '-ya gotta hankerin' for pomegranate Sephykins?'

'Actually, _no_..' Persephone beamed. '-I have this strange craving for something else..'

'Really?' The fiery god raised a brow at his wife. 'What might that be..'

'I'm not sure sweetie..' The pregnant goddess let out a girlish laugh. '-I just know it's not a pomegranate..'

* * *

Persephone smiled as she stitched the little hole shut with a thin needle and black thread, making sure all the stuffing was back inside. Once she'd finished she got a thicker needle with some soft black lambs wool and began to darn the places where Mr Skelton was looking a little bald. The Queen of the Underworld admired the stuffed skeleton, wondering what kind of youthful adventures that it had shared with her husband. A small smile tweaked her lips as she looked at it's large black shiny round eyes which gazed up vacantly, a crude cross-stitched smile across it's all white face.. She knew the baby would love it's father's old toy..

'Are ya sure I can't tempt ya with a slice..' Hades' voice purred rousing the pregnant goddess out of her musings. Persephone blinked before turning her eyes to the pomegranate quarters on the black dish in her husband's hand as Hades perched himself on the armrest of his throne.

'No..' She shook her head vaguely, wondering what was wrong with her as she had never turned down pomegranate before. Hades merely smirked amused before making the fruit vanish into a puff of smoke then summoning a bowl of worms in it's place. The fiery god picked up a worm and then slurped it down and watched his wife idly as she finished darning his beloved childhood toy.

'Hey, neat job Sephy..' Hades sounded picking up Mr Skelton who was looking as good as new. He smiled fondly at his loyal old toy, it brought back so many memories of his childhood and now Mr Skeleton had a chance to make another little bundle of flames happy.

Persephone watched with a faint smile as her husband gazed at his old toy, probably reminiscing about some long forgotten part of his childhood. Her eyes then slowly turned towards the abandoned bowl of worms in his lap. She suddenly felt a twinge in her bump as the baby wriggled then it was followed by this strange craving to try one of the slimy pink insects. Her first reaction was disgust in herself, she'd never felt any desire to try these horrible looking things before but now that she was pregnant she was craving them like mad. So far she had managed to resist temptation, at least she had until..

'Can I try one?' The words were out of her mouth before she'd realised what she'd just uttered. Persephone then slapped her hand over her mouth in shock as Hades looked up from Mr Skelton, he too was looking surprised by his wife's words. For a long moment they gazed at each other before Hades put down Mr Skelton and pushed the bowl of worms towards his wife.

'Of course ya can my sweet..' He sounded softly with a ghost of a smile twitching his lips. Persephone gazed a little daunted by the mass of wriggling pink things in the bowl.

'Here..' Hades sounded gently, leaning forward and pulling a small thin worm out of the bowl. '-let me help ya..' Persephone smiled at her husband and took the worm off of him, their fingers grazing as she did so. She studied the small pink insect in her fingers before sighing. Persephone held her nose with her free hand and then with one deep breathe she put the worm in her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut and chewing it. When she swallowed she opened her eyes slowly and turned to Hades who merely looked amazed that his wife had actually eaten one of the worms herself.

'Hmm..' Persephone mused thoughtfully before smiling. '-I can see why you like them so much..' She then reached out for another, this time she stretched it in her teeth just as she'd seen her husband do numerous times before, then she slurped it down with a satisfied smile. Hades merely stared at her for a long moment… finding the whole look very sexy despite his wife being pregnant.

'Heh..' Hades sounded stupidly, still staring at his wife tenderly. '-have I ever told you I love ya babe..'

'Only once or twice..' Persephone smirked amused by her husband and patted her baby bump tenderly..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Happy New Year Peeps! I wish you all the best for 2011!_

_I know I promised not to say any more on the baby but now that you've got all the clues to the baby's identity I wish you luck in figuring it out and don't worry, Hecate will be back in the next chapter to kick off her takeover plot… sorry it's taken so long but I wanted to do as much writing on the baby as possible because it's an important part of the plot.._

_See you all next time and please review.._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	18. A new Trimester of Turmoil

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Eighteen:****A new Trimester of Turmoil..**

As the weeks slowly whittled onwards Persephone entered her third trimester and the young Queen of the Underworld was starting to find her pregnancy very exhausting. So much so the white-skinned goddess was forced to take 'maternity leave' only two weeks before the official start of autumn. Persephone had hoped that by the third trimester her pregnancy symptoms would have eased up but her unborn baby seemed to have other ideas. Once the little one had began to kick it was not shy about letting it's presence known to it's mother. Persephone was sure that her little baby revelled in organ-torture as it was soon battering any organ that it's tiny little feet and fists came in contact with.. judging by her loss of bladder control, it along with her kidneys were a personal favourite. However nothing could have prepared the expectant goddess for her infant's next plan of attack..

Persephone had always had a nasty suspicion that her baby was harbouring a full-head of flames.. then just a week before the young goddess and her husband were expected to travel up to the Great Harvest festivities on Olympus her instincts were proven correct. So now as her organs were taking a two-pronged batter-then-scorch assault the Queen of the Underworld had developed a hacking smokers cough in which she coughed up black smoke and ash. Persephone was so grateful that she was immortal and her organs would just heal themselves instantly once her little one had grown bored of incinerating them.

It was at this point that Persephone finally admitted defeat and retired from all physical aspects of her work, it meant that her rebirthing scheme in the Elysian Fields was now put on hold but as the souls were good-natured they really didn't mind staying in paradise a few extra months. This also meant that the only things expectant goddess had to worry about was taking care of herself and her unborn baby.

* * *

On the morning of the Harvest Festival Hades had risen early, planning to get some of the mass pile of paperwork out of the way before he and Persephone were expected to appear on Olympus for the festivities. After dressing himself the fiery god perched on his wife's side of the bed and gazed at the pregnant goddess as she slept soundly next to him. It was funny, most goddesses suited pregnancy. Their auras seemed to glow even brighter and they had a glow of youth about them… but not Persephone. If anything her aura had dimmed, it was almost non-existent and the young goddess was now sporting faint grey shadows under her eyes were the baby's nocturnal antics were keeping her awake into the small hours of night, her hair was also very limp looking and as a result Persephone had begun to wear it up in a bun just so she didn't have to worry about it.. It was like the baby was somehow sucking all the life out of his beautiful goddess.

Stretching out Hades gently touched his wife's swollen bump. He smiled slightly as there was a gentle kick, almost as though the baby was acknowledging his presence. The fiery god then lent over his sleeping wife so that he was inches away from his baby.

'Alright short-stuff..' Hades sounded in a soft but firm tone as he continued to stroke Persephone's abdomen. '-you behave for mommy ok? That means no organ-torture until I get back, ya got that?' The fiery god paused with his hand still resting on the bump, waiting for some small sign that the baby accepted his words. After a moment a soft warm feeling came from the bump and this caused a huge wide-fanged smirk to creep over Hades' face.

'That's ma boy..' He whispered content with this response. He then pulled away from the goddess' abdomen and lent upwards to his wife, kissing her on the cheek causing her faint smile to widen before he vanished out in a swirl of smoke, leaving his wife to get some well-needed rest.

By the time Hades had set his paperwork in order and given both the imps and Sirens their daily tasks Persephone had woken up. When Hades entered their private bedroom to begin getting ready for the celebrations on Olympus that afternoon he found his wife standing nude in front of the full length mirror. She was studying her swollen body with her hands cupped around her heavy pregnancy bump for support. Shutting the door Hades glided towards his wife and stood behind her, admiring her reflection in the mirror before lowering his head level with hers.

'Heh, morning sweet-cheeks..' He purred enticingly in her ear before turning his eyes back to her reflection so he could admire it some more.. Persephone sighed heavily at his words then turned away from her reflection looking saddened by what she saw.

'Hey..' Hades blinked before swapping shoulders so that his face was beside hers. '-what's the matter Sephy?' He sounded confused by her reaction to his words. Persephone raised her downcast gaze to meet his then blinked slowly.

'How can you still find me attractive?' She asked him in a soft serious tone, turning back to the mirror and looking over her swollen belly, faded aura and diminished looks… she looked hideous. 'I mean, look at me… I'm.. I'm..' She was unable to actually voice this opinion of herself but her tears were enough to give away how she felt.

'-beautiful..' Hades finished her sentence for her causing Persephone to blink then throw him a sceptical look. The fiery god merely wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him, stroking her bump lovingly. 'Seph… you're the mother of my kid, how could I see ya as anything else, huh?' He murmured kissing her on the forehead and causing a small smile to appear on his wife's lips as she lent back against his shoulder.

'Hades..' She sounded softly after a moment of silence had passed between them.

'Hmm..' The fiery god sounded vaguely and stopped stroking her bump.

'Do we have to go to the Harvest festival?' She sounded wearily, asking him the question he usually asked her every year.

'Unfortunately baby..' Hades sighed heavily as Persephone stroked his jaw tenderly. '-I don't think your mother would ever forgive us if we didn't show..'

'I suppose not..' Persephone sounded gloomily, she really didn't feel up to a godly gathering today.

'Heh, tell ya what why don't we make this one a flyin' visit, huh?' Hades sounded seeing his wife's lack of interest in the Harvest festival and intending to take full advantage of it.

'Lemmie guess, we're gonna follow the Hades rules of partying: meet, greet and bail..' Persephone raised a brow amused by him.

'Exactly..' The fiery god exclaimed before snapping his fingers causing Persephone's halter-neck maternity chiton to appear on her body. '-we'll be back home before ya know it, whadda ya say?' Persephone hummed thoughtfully before smiling at her husband.

* * *

The Great Coliseum on Olympus was awash with the brightly-coloured auras of the rest of the god squad when Hades and Persephone arrived on the cloud. The expectant goddess was practically clinging to her husband for support as carrying her large bump was very tiring. Many gods pointed and whispered at Persephone's lack of aura and tired features… clearly pregnancy didn't suit her in their opinion. Hades glared around the other gods and wrapped an arm protectively around his wife's bloated waist, silently daring them to say anything. After a little while Persephone rested herself against the pillar as Hades lent one hand just beside her head and casually gazed around the room.

The next second Hermes swooped down from nowhere grinning at them both.

'Holy mother of Zeus your as big as a chariot..' The tiny blue Messenger God teased his best friend's enormous bump before taking in her tired features. '-and ya look just awful babe..' Hades glared at Hermes but Persephone laughed affectionately at his banter.

'Well let's see you try to sleep when your organs are being pounded and flambéed all night long..' She beamed girlishly.

'Uh, I'll pass..' He replied airily before turning to Hades. 'So, ya lookin' forward to bein' a daddy Hades..' He asked cheerfully before adding. '-boy there's somethin' I never thought I'd hear myself say..'

'Eh, sure why not? If Zeus can do it so can I..' Hades shrugged cheerfully as Persephone snickered silently thinking her husband would make a better father.

'Hey, that's the spirit man..' Hermes beamed widely not getting the joke then absent-mindedly checking his watch. 'Oh, ouch… gotta go guys, Bacchus got here early so I gotta check on the nectar supply catcha later..' He waved them off and streaked off to the far end of the coliseum. They didn't get peace for more than two second before a girly voice came from nearby.

'Persephone… Oh my days I'm so glad you're here..' Hades caught sight of the owner's voice first but didn't recognise the teal coloured goddess who was now hurrying over to them. Persephone caught sight of her too but looked confused, not recognising the goddess who was talking to her despite their being something very familiar about her voice.

The slim teal-skinned goddess had very pale minty green hair that was pulled back into a high ponytail with a pink band, she was wearing a deep turquoise chiton held together with a pink love-heart pin. The goddess only laughed a tinkling laugh at Persephone's confused expression before she spoke again.

'You don't recognise me do you?' She asked playfully. Hades blinked at this pretty little goddess before him wondering vaguely if she was a daughter of Aphrodite, she certainly had the curves to be.

'Uh, no..' Persephone shook her head. '-should I?'

'It's me..' The teal-skinned goddess blinked still smiling. '-Psyche.' At the sound of her name Persephone instantly recognised the powdered blue eyes of the mortal girl who had come down to the Underworld only a few months before.

'Holy Canoley, it is you..' Persephone suddenly beamed taking in the former mortal's appearance. '-you look so.. _different.._' Psyche beamed wider, pleased the goddess finally recognised her. Hades' eyes widened at the goddess' name and he then instantly realised that this was the mortal girl who had been irritating Aphrodite. He then smirked widely to himself wishing he could have seen the look of indignation of the Love Goddess' face when she'd learnt the girl was going to be immortal.. that would have been hilarious..

'Yeh, after I came to see you I tried some of that beauty serum-' Persephone winced guiltily at this. '-and I must have gone into a deep sleep or something but when I woke up I was a god… apparently Cupid went to Zeus and stated our case and he made me immortal… isn't that great? Now I'm the Goddess of Devotion..' She sighed wistfully completely missing how Persephone's smile tightened uncomfortably at the mention of Zeus.

'Yeh, that's wonderful..' Persephone sounded, genuinely pleased that things had worked out for Psyche. The teal goddess gave a happy squeal and hugged Persephone.

'Oh it's all thanks to you..' She trilled pulling away and finally noticing Hades. '-and this must be your husband..' Psyche beamed widely at the fiery god who blinked then extended his arm to her.

'The names Hades, Lord of the Dead hi how ya doin'?' He reeled off his traditional introduction grinning a wide-fanged smirk at her.

'Oh what are you doing?' Psyche asked blinking confused at hand before swooping forward and hugging the fiery god. Hades gasped in shock then held his hands out away from her and said to his wife,

'Look Seph, no touchy..' Persephone merely laughed by how uncomfortable her husband was by this open display of affection from Cupid's girlfriend.

'Well I better go find Cupid it was good to see you Persephone.. and nice to meet you Hades, bye..' She then quickly skipped off into the crowd again looking all loved-up..

'She seemed…' Hades paused, looking for the right word. '-perky..' He was still looking bewildered by the fact that Psyche had openly hugged him..

'Very perky..' Persephone agreed still snickering amused by her husband's stunned face..

* * *

Hecate had been lounging by herself on the opposite side of the coliseum vaguely gazing around the sea of multi-coloured gods with disinterest. Very few gods ever acknowledged the witch's presence on this god-infested cloud, not that Hecate cared. This place was just far too fluffy and cheery for her, besides Olympus didn't really fit her bad-girl image hence why she had set her sights on the Underworld.

Usually Hecate didn't bother showing up to these Harvest festival celebrations and she probably wouldn't have bothered showing up for this one either if it wasn't for her hostile takeover scheme. After scanning the crowds a few times Hecate finally managed to find the familiar flickering blue flames of Hades and beside him was his sweet little pregnant wifey. This was the only reason Hecate had come to the festivities on Olympus, she had come to check on Persephone's pregnancy progress since this was the first chance she had… Hecate of course had no idea that Persephone had retired from her surface duties early this year..

At the sight of the young Queen of the Underworld Hecate's silvery eyes narrowed and her thin violet lips twisted into a thin jagged leer. Persephone was clearly having a rough time with her pregnancy and predictably her husband was sticking close to her. Hecate studied Persephone's aura, it was almost gone… perhaps this pregnancy was hitting her harder than the witch had originally thought. The witch studied Persephone's tired face as the young goddess laid her head wearily against her husband. She was looking terribly weak…

Hecate grinned evilly at the sight… this was going to be much easier than she thought but first, she had to make sure Persephone was completely defenceless before she went after her… and she'd need her wolves for that.

'Hecate..' A cheery voice sounded causing the witch to blink surprised by the interruption and she turned to the voice. Demeter beamed at Hecate widely.

'I didn't expect to see you here..' The green-skinned goddess trilled happily at the sight of her.

'Oh, Demeter..' Hecate smiled almost nervously as this was the mother of the goddess she was planning to overthrow. '-hello… yes, I came but I really must be going..' The witch gestured to the exit but the Goddess of Nature stopped her.

'So soon Hecate..' Demeter sounded disappointed. '-but you only just got here..'

'I know and I'd really like to stay but unfortunately I must be getting ready for my night wanderings..' Hecate sounded apologetically however Demeter waved her off.

'Uh, you sound like Hades..' She snorted dismissively. '-come, stay for one drink so we can catch up..' Hecate looked unsurely at her for a moment before realising that this might just be the prefect way to get some information.. The witch then mock-sighed heavily.

'Oh very well..' Hecate sounded warmly narrowing her eyes. '-you've twisted my arm..'

* * *

'_Great_..' Hades drawled unimpressed as his yellow eyes narrowed in distaste. '-check what the Fates just _dragged_ in.' Persephone blinked then swivelled her green eyes in the same direction her husband was glaring in. The goddess then frowned as she spotted Hecate standing with her mother.

'Oh no..' Persephone breathed irritably. '-what is _she_ doing here?'

'_Bolt_ Boy probably invited her..' Hades mused grimly while watching Hecate closely.

'Uh, what's the bet mother tells her all about the pregnancy..' Persephone snorted crossly wondering why her mother was even friends with the witch, all she did was cause trouble.

'C'mon babe..' Hades sounded firmly, seizing his wife's hand and leading her away from the witch. '-we ain't hangin' around to find out..' Persephone allowed her husband to lead her away from Hecate… she just wanted to get off this cloud quickly.

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey Everybody.. Ok, so the plot hasn't quite kicked off yet but it should in the next couple of chaps, I've been so looking forward to writing about it that I can hardly spare any attention to other stories right now (I'm that excited!).._

_Ooh, thank you so much Jayderrabbit, it's always nice to hear from a fan and I'm pleased that I managed to spark your interest in Greek myths… unfortunately you'll just have to wait and see on the baby front but good guess.._

_I hope you all like the little conclusion to Psyche's tale, it seemed relevant to slip it in and I tried to keep it true to the myth ending…_

_I must admit I love a good villain and I do hope Hecate is living up to being one since Hades is taking a backseat in this story…_

_Lot's of Love…Ditzy X_


	19. The Anti Natals from Tartarus

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Nineteen:****The Anti-Natals from Tartarus**

Hecate was pacing around her grotto flexing her fists trying to work off some of her fury… It had been a whole week since the Harvest Festival and her wolves had not even managed to get close to the Queen of the Underworld. Hades had tightened security so much that getting into the Underworld was next to impossible unless you were dead. In the witch's sharp mind this could mean one of two things… either Hades had finally cottoned onto the fact that she was plotting against him or, more likely, he was protecting his wife who really was in a vulnerable position..

The Goddess of Witchcraft had very briefly toyed with the idea of visiting the subterranean rulers herself, but after being unable to think up a viable excuse that Hades could swallow she scrapped that idea… sometimes the fiery gargoyle was too smart for his own good. This realisation left Hecate with a very sour taste in her mouth. She did not wait all this time to be unwittingly outsmarted by Hades at the last hurdle… She was not going to be beaten by that cocky, self-righteous god again, especially since he hadn't even _tried_ to outdo her..

Hecate groaned in annoyance as she slumped down into her throne. The thought of Hades' smug face was starting to give her a headache… how was she supposed to defeat him if she couldn't even get passed his front gate?

'Mistress..' The sound of one of her minions made the witch look up as both wolf-brothers flew into the centre of her dimly lit home and bowing low to Hecate. She raised a brow at her minions as her lips first formed an 'oh' before twisting into a bothered grimace.

'You better have a good reason for interrupting my musings..' The witch sounded in a low and threatening voice which said everything about her mood.

'We believe we have found a way into the Underworld.' The wolf on the right flashed his mistress of the Night a wide jagged leer.

'Really..' Hecate suddenly purred, her anger vanishing away at the prospect of this new lead. She leaned forward in her silver wolf-skin covered throne eagerly… it seemed that this fight wasn't over yet. '-and you can get through completely undetected?'

'Eh..' The first wolf batted his paw from side to side. '-you've gotta watch out for Cerberus but once your in it's a synch..'

'Oh yeh..' His brother nodded earnestly. '-since everybody is so distracted with getting ready for the birth of this baby, inside security has taken a backseat..'

'I think it's a complete violation of protocol..' The first wolf sounded. '-I mean, anybody could just walk around undetected..' His brother snickered and added,

'Yup, but that's good news for us..'

Hecate rolled her eyes wearily.

'Yes, yes, yes…' She sounded determined to keep the wolves on track. '-but have you managed to find out whether Persephone is as powerless as she seems..'

'No..' The wolves sounded together shaking their muzzles.

'Persephone is impossible to get close to now…' One wolf sounded before the other finished his sentence.

'-and the few times we have seen her she hasn't used her powers at all..'

'Hmmm..' Hecate mused thoughtfully for a moment then blinked. '-not at all?' She sounded with a slight edge of disbelief in her tone. Both wolfs shook again.

'Whether it's because she can't or won't we don't know..' The first wolf sounded again.

'Very well Mayhem, just keep watching them.. our plan all rests on Persephone..' Hecate then blinked as the wolf uttered something. 'What was that?' She asked him confused.

'Havoc mistress..' The wolf repeated. '-I'm Havoc..'

'Ooh..' Hecate slapped her head at her mistake in mixing up her minions for what must have been the billionth time.. '-Dammit all down to Tartarus!' She screeched, infuriated before jabbing a finger in the wolves long noses. 'That's it, first thing tomorrow I'm getting you both dog-tags!'

'But we already have dog-tags..' Mayhem gestured to their two loose fitting grey tags. Hecate blinked then moved closer to the tags and squinted at their names.

'Well this time I'm going to make sure I can _read_ them!' She sniffed with a petulant air, folding her slim pale arms across her chest.

* * *

'Ok Seph..' Hera's voice sounded in a gentle soothing tone. '-now let's repeat the breathing exercise again..'

Persephone sighed heavily. Her eyes were closed and she was trying to tune everything out but the sound of Hera's voice… unfortunately the expectant goddess couldn't shake the fact that she felt utterly ridiculous at this moment in time.. Deciding to ignore her inner feelings Persephone listened to the Queen of the Gods..

'In, in.. out, out..' Hera sounded perkily. '-like this..' The lilac-skinned goddess then made a few sharp puffing noises. '-you want to try and suck in short little bursts of air while your having contractions..'

Persephone repeated the short sharp puffing breaths still feeling like a total idiot. She was only on her third anti-natal class and already loathing them. An afternoon with Hera going on about labour and looking after an infant.. _oh joy_. A whole afternoon of learning how far her cervix was going to stretch and how much pain labour was going to be.. It was like some brilliant form of torture…

Although, it wasn't quite as torturous as Hera's idea of watching a mortal give birth on Tartarus Vision on the first day.

Hades, who had agreed to take the anti-natal class with his wife, looked on bored when Hera turned on the T.V. and the mortal woman was screaming in agony while Artemis was watching over the proceedings..

_Pfft.. what was she complaining about? There were stiffs in Tartarus with bigger problems than her! _Hades then glanced at his pregnant wife who was grimacing painfully at the image on the Tartarus Vision. _Aww… she's so cute when she's on edge.._

At that point Hades' eyes widened as became aware of what was happening on the screen… the mortal woman had began pushing out her baby.

_What the-_

Then suddenly the flame-haired god, who thought up the eternal torments of Tartarus, let out a terrified effeminate scream of horror and vanished out of the den in a burst of fire and smoke..The disturbed Lord of the Underworld knew that the horrible images of childbirth were going to be replacing the Vortex of Fire in his nightmares until the brat was out of his wife.

Today Persephone was practising her breathing exercises on the birthing ball. The Queen of the Underworld hadn't really been listening when Hera had explained the reasoning behind it… she just thought that the whole idea of being perched on a big round ball was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.

Her lack of concentration made the white-skinned goddess wobble on the birthing ball then slip off landing on her backside on the chessboard for second time.

'Rrrr..' Persephone growled irritably and kicked the inflated pink ball away from her. '-I'm not doing this anymore..' The goddess snapped.

'Oh don't be discouraged by this Persephone..' Hera sounded in her calm and soothing voice which was only fanning the Queen of the Underworld's irritation further. '-the birthing ball has helped lot's of pregnant women to-'

'Save it for the next poor schmo Hera..' Persephone sounded sharply, cutting off her aunt and mid-wife. '-I don't want to use the stupid ball.'

Hera sighed heavily and shook her blonde head, all pregnant goddess' were temperamental so the Queen of the Gods just raised her arms in defeat..

'Alright, do you want to try the birthing pool instead?'

Persephone blinked at these words incredulously then frowned.

'Do I look like a fish to you?' The pregnant goddess shot back rudely. 'I _just_ want to give birth to the kid _here_-' She gestured to the chessboard she was sat on. '-is that too much trouble?' Persephone sounded in a dangerously sweet tone.

Hera rolled her blue eyes at the stubborn Queen of the Underworld.

'_Fine_..' The Queen of the Gods sounded wearily deciding to just go along with what Persephone wanted. '-let's get the mat rolled out and you can practise pushing and breathing in sequence..'

* * *

A few moments later Persephone was on her back puffing and straining as Hades, who had shown up with the Sirens after the quarterly review, was now perched on his knees behind his wife. They had moved down onto the floor so that the Sirens, who were going to be acting as mid-wives until Hera arrived from Olympus, were practising how to prepare the chessboard for the delivery of the baby. There was now a large heavy-set trunk sat in the throne room with everything Persephone would need for the delivery including: pillows, towels, bed sheets, a delivery-chiton that was based loosely on one of Hades' under-chitons and a few other knick-knacks they would need once the baby was born. The imps were not left out of the baby's birth, they had a job so simple that even they should remember it, go get Hera when Persephone's water's break..

'Ok, I'm still not getting this..' The fiery god sounded looking a little confused causing his wife to stop her puffing and pushing practise. '-what am I supposed to be doing again?'

Hera's eyes narrowed and she made a little irritable noise in the back of her throat. Both Underworld deities were really trying her patience. If it wasn't for the fact that she'd promised her big sister to help her 'little Cora' she would have just left them to figure it out themselves… well, using 'promised' loosely of course, Demeter had pretty much held her sister tightly until she got her way then pulled that 'you-might-be-the-Queen-of-the-Gods-but-I-can-still-boss-you-around' kind of look.

The lilac-skinned goddess shook off her thoughts of her big sister and returned focus to Hades who was still having trouble grasping the finer etiquette of 'assisting Persephone through birth'..

'Hades..' Hera drawled sweetly clasping her hands together trying very hard to crush the growing resentment. At least Persephone's husband was interested in helping his wife through this, Zeus believed that 'birthing babies' was a woman's thing and that since she had sisters she didn't really _need_ him to be there..

'-you just need to support your wife..' The Queen of the Gods smiled. '-y'know… rub her shoulders, help her to focus on her breathing, give her words of encouragement when she needs it..'

'Uh-huh.. uh-huh.. I'm with ya..' Hades nodded thoughtfully, considering this. '-so it's like.. _emotional_ support, right?' He flashed a grin and Persephone beamed at his words, snuggling back in his arms that were around her shoulders. Hera too smiled by the fiery god's break through..

'That's right..' She replied cheerily.

'I… I just got this one, itty-bitty, tiny iota of a problem here..' Hades sounded with one hand raised up and his fingers almost touching as though to emphasis his point. Persephone blinked then looked up at her husband bemused, one hand stroking her large baby bump absent-mindedly but the baby seemed to be sleeping at this moment as it was being unusually quiet..

'Oh..' Hera's eyebrow shot up at Hades' words.

'Well… it's about the shoulder rubbin'.. y'see..' The fiery god paused before reluctantly admitting, '-I usually only do that when I'm tryin' to get Seph in the sack..'

'Sweetie!' Persephone instantly felt the burn of a peachy blush and she quickly stifled her husband by covering his blue lips with her dainty white hand. 'Heh, I'm sure Hera doesn't want to here about that..' The fiery god calmly removed his wife's hand smirking amused.

'Pfft…' Hades snorted rolling his large round eyes animatedly. '-and how does she think this kid was conceived?' Hades snickered, ignoring the frown on Hera's face.

'Ok, ok..' The lilac-skinned goddess sounded trying to skate passed this because she really did not wanting to hear anymore of this conversation. '-let's just try to focus on this exercise, hmm?' Hera was throwing them a 'strict teacher' look which made both Underworld deities snigger amused like naughty little school kids.

'Mmm, I think somebody's a little cranky..' Hades sounded in an almost sing-song voice making Persephone giggle harder and Hera's eyes narrowed further into blue slits of irritation… these classes were going to be torture..

* * *

As the anti-natal classes continued Hera felt like bashing her head against a particularly sharp stalagmite. These lessons which were supposed to prepare the two Underworld Rulers for the enormous responsibilities of raising a baby had turned into a joke..

When the lilac-skinned goddess brought a life-size baby doll down with her so she could teach them both how to take care of a new-born baby everything had been fine at first. Both Hades and Persephone seemed keen to learn. The Goddess of Life, who used to baby-sit her little cousins Hebe and Harmonia when they were just tiny little godlings, proved that she had not forgotten the basics of childcare and Hera had a feeling the teenage Queen of the Underworld was going to be a natural mother… but Hades was another story entirely.

The Queen of the Gods suspected that Hades was merely suffering from 'first-time-father-syndrome'.. Since the fiery god had been the youngest in his adoptive family and then hidden himself away in the Underworld for most of his adult life, he had absolutely no experience with babies and found himself slightly overwhelmed by the whole experience.

Although.. _bless him_.. Hades did try his hardest..

The trouble was that the imps did have a habit of distracting the fiery Lord of the Underworld at the worst possible moments. One of them being while the god was learning how to hold a baby correctly.

'Ok now mind it's head..' Hera sounded encouragingly as Hades gently lifted the newly-diapered doll from the stone changing area in the nursery. The imps entered the room looking for their boss as they needed the god's signature on a few torture approval forms from Tartarus, the jailer Kampe liked all the paperwork to be in order before she and the Furies initiated any of their flame-haired governor's tortures. At the sight of the flame-haired deity holding a small toy doll both Pain and Panic cracked up into badly repressed laughter.

'Aren't you a little _old _to be playing with dolls..' Panic sounded in a drawling jest as Pain merely clutched his sides laughing hysterically at his boss. Then Hades who'd been glaring at them both furious and embarrassed about being caught with the doll in his hands glared venomously… then at Panic's childish quip the god seethed flaring a brilliant shade and the numerous imp-tortures in his head instantly fanned the flames of annoyance.

'Hades!' Hera's eyes widened in horror, but it wasn't because of his flames, she was too used to Hades' fiery explosions to let them affect her but her eyes were looking at the baby doll that was now in the fiery god's now red hot grip. 'Your scorching the baby!'

'Wha-?' Hades sounded snapping out of his mind-numbing rage and looking down at the horrible black smoky doll in his hands. 'Whoops..' The fiery god sounded sheepishly, handing the baby back to Hera who could only stare at the fire damaged fake-infant. The Queen of the Gods sincerely hoped that the Lord of the Underworld's baby was flame-retardant, it was the only way it was going to survive down here..

Both imps then left the paperwork on the side of the chest of drawers and vanished off still tittering at their fiery boss..

'Rrrr… just wait until I get hold of their scrawny little necks..' Hades sounded in a low murderous voice but Persephone appeared wrapping her arms around his shoulders smiling lovingly.

'Oh, don't let them get to you Hades..' Persephone sounded in a calming low voice. '-besides, we can always make them brat-sit when the baby is born.' Her words made Hades give a low chuckle at the thought. Since this baby clearly took after it's daddy in the power stakes, the imps would be in for a rough time.

'Heh, yehh..' Hades sounded amused, his arm wrapping around his wife and stroking her bump. '-the brat is gonna _love _those two..'

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey Everybody, it occurred to me that nobody ever writes about Hades and Seph in anti-natal class.. I'll confess that I'm no expert on the subject as I've never had a baby myself so I'm going off both what I've seen on T.V. and what I've heard from others on this chap.. As you've probably guessed already, I love seeing both Seph and Hades suffer XP_

_Ok, there's a slight myth-hint behind Hades comment: 'how does she think this kid was conceived?'… Anybody who's a serious Greek Myth buff should have noticed it but for those who didn't I'll tell you. Although nobody but Zeus was credited with being the father of both Hephaestus and Ares there are myths suggesting that Hera conceived Hephaestus on her own.. but I imagine that since Heph is more centred than both the Athena and Ares, he's the oldest.. Then some myths say Hera conceived Ares by touching a certain kind of flower (anyone feel like gardening now?).._

_And finally just a brief mention about Kampe. She'll be making an appearance in a later story with Hades' kid… she's the demon prison guard of Tartarus. She was placed in this position by Cronos long before Hades was in charge and it's her job to insure that those bound for Tartarus stay in Tartarus.._

_Stay tuned and don't forget to review…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy x_


	20. The Plot around Powerless Persephone

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Twenty:****The Plot around Powerless Persephone**

The Underworld was the kind of realm that only the brave, the stupid or the desperate ever sought out and there was always a way inside for those who looked hard enough.. It was a factor that it's fiery ruler had to put into consideration when stepping up the safety measures of his home. Hades had no choice but to step up security when he realised just how bad Persephone's power situation was. They had discovered that since her's and the baby's powers were connected they only worked when both Persephone and her unborn infant were awake… and since now the baby was asleep most of the time the expectant goddess was awake, this meant that she was almost mortal in the power department..

With his wife in such a vulnerable position and with Hecate, the one being in the cosmos who would use this to her advantage, living practically on their doorstep Hades wasn't taking any chances. Charon received new tighter security checks and the still bad-tempered adolescent Cerberus was prowling the Styx and barking manically at anything that moved. The fiery god had also set up some rather ingenious traps in Asphodel which would distract anyone who tried to come through that way. The fiery god accepted that it would be impossible to cover every single entrance into the Underworld but he ordered his all his minions to make sure that Hecate got no wind of Persephone's condition..

There was no telling what the witch would do with information like that.

* * *

Unfortunately for Hades, he did not count on the craftiness of Hecate's wolves. It was probably because they were her subordinates and he just merely assumed that like his own they had a sub-par intelligence..

It was a mistake that was working in the wolves favour as the two sneaky underlings of Hecate had just managed to successfully slip passed Cerberus. The temperamental three-headed mutt had spotted Charon in his boat with a fresh load of souls and decided to give chase along the riverbank. While he was distracted the two wolves approached the banks of the wide river Styx. Then glancing both ways, checking the coast was clear they spread their wide grey wings and flew over the waters to the other side of the bank. Once the two brothers had landed they quickly took cover and began checking the coast for any of the imps or Sirens… although both wolves firmly believed that they could take down these five idiots easily they didn't want to risk the chance of alerting Hades to their presence in his realm.. and besides they would get to deal with them soon.

Sure enough, as soon as the wolf brothers managed to hide the three Sirens appeared around the corner, each blonde minty-skinned nymph was clutching a clipboard of information on the new arrivals inside the Elysian Fields. The three girls had matching troubled looks and were talking in hushed voices. This sparked the wolves curiosity and they moved closer to hear what the Sirens were talking about..

'-she looked awful when I saw her earlier, I think the baby is really starting to drain her energy..' Tele whispered to her sisters.

'I know-' Raidne agreed nodding her head. '-Miss Persephone barely has an aura left and with her power situation the way it is the boss is afraid to let her out of his sight for very long.'

Both wolves exchanged a glance then leered at each other, this was just the sort of information that their mistress was looking for. They then began to stalk the three nymph-girls, keeping sure to stay in the shadows, so they could eavesdrop on their conversation hoping one of the Sirens might be able to tell them where the Queen of the Underworld was..

'I think it's so sweet that Master Hades cares so much for our mistress' well being..' Molpe sighed dreamily. '-there aren't many gods in this day and age like him.'

'Yeh..' Both her sisters sighed.

'She's so lucky..' Raidne sounded vaguely.

The wolf brothers grimaced with disgust at the Sirens mushy conversation.

'Oh please..' One wolf drawled rolling his eyes wearily.

'-don't make us vomit..' His brother finished his sentence pretending to retch, the first wolf flashed his brother a jagged leer.

The Sirens carried onwards completely oblivious to the fact that they were being followed.

'C'mon, we better deliver these forms to the boss..' Tele sounded snapping her sisters out of their dreamy states. '-you know he's trying to finish up quickly so he can rejoin Miss Persephone in the Grove of Lethe..'

Having now received the information they needed both wolves disappeared further into the shadows and began to slink their way around the Underworld to where the Queen of the Underworld was hiding out.

* * *

Persephone stretched out relaxing under a heavily drooping willow tree in the peaceful Grove of Lethe. She only had one month left to go until the baby was due to be born, in a way the expectant goddess was grateful as she was finding her power situation almost unbearable. If she wanted to perform many kind of godly feat she had to first jab her huge pregnant bump until she felt the little one kick so she knew it was awake. However Persephone was also very nervous about giving birth to the baby. After all her anti-natals explaining what would happen during her labour the young goddess was trying not to think about how many days she had left until her due date.

Still, it didn't stop the young goddess from being bored while everybody else was out at work and after spending so long just lounging around flicking through the channels of Tartarus Vision Persephone had decided she was fed-up with being cooped up inside the house. It took her a while to convince her husband that nothing would happen if she spent a little time outside and as usual, her case was helped with a seductive flutter of her eyelashes. Hades' only condition was that she remain inside the Grove of Lethe if she wasn't with himself or their minions, that way he would always know where to find her if she was in any trouble.

It was a hard bargain but Persephone accepted her husband's terms, after all his protective side was a part of him she had always found endearing and at least this way she didn't have to feel like a prisoner in her own home.

Persephone glanced around the first garden she had created for the Underworld, even after almost seven years since it had first been planted the grove hadn't changed much, apart from the overpowering sweet smell of Minthe and her offspring that grew all over the place.

It didn't take the wolves long to track down the Queen of the Underworld and to their delight she was alone. Concealing themselves in the thick vegetation of the Grove of Lethe they got down on their bellies and crawled closer to the goddess making sure that they kept a safe distance. Persephone was even weaker than Hecate had imagined. Her aura was nothing more than a very dim grey light that flickered faintly like a torch light about to burn out. Her bump was huge, she had a big round football on the front of her body.. and judging by the way the goddess was straining to move into a comfortable position it must be very awkward to move around with it, not that the wolves were complaining..

When the goddess finally got herself comfortable she looked about her for something before picking up an empty glass and scowling before wiggling her fingers… nothing happed. Both wolf brothers glanced at each other before looking back as the goddess sighed heavily, shaking her head with disbelief. Persephone made an irritable noise of frustration then tried again… once more nothing happened. This time both wolf brothers leered evilly from under the thick pomegranate shrub. The goddess tried a third time to summon herself a drink and again, nothing happened.

'She's as good as mortal..' One brother sounded in a hushed gleeful whisper.

'Hecate will be so pleased..' His brother spoke in a low voice. Both wolves then crawled out of the bushes then As quickly and quietly as they could they got out of there. After they had shook off the last of the small twigs and bits of leaves that had gotten stuck to their fur the two wolves left the Underworld to go and inform their mistress of what they had just witnessed.

However, perhaps if the two overly-enthusiastic minions had hung around for another moment or two longer, they might not have been so keen about their mistress' chances of success. In the Grove of Lethe, blissfully unaware that she had been spied upon, the expectant Queen of the Underworld had turned away from her empty glass and was now focusing on her large protruding baby bump.

'Come on babycakes..' Persephone sounded in a motherly tone, jabbing her bump sharply. '-mommy wants to summon herself a drink now..' There was a pause as the goddess waited for a response from her little one. Suddenly Persephone winced painfully as the baby kicked her sharply, clearly it was cranky after being woken up.

'Ow..' Persephone rubbed her baby bump. '-not so rough ok, I think you've given me enough bruises.' The goddess sighed as the baby responded with another kick, obviously it disagreed. Persephone chose to ignore her moody unborn baby and turned her attention back to the empty glass. She stretched out gingerly wiggling her fingers and a pitcher of ice-cold nectar appeared out of a small swirl of black smoky orbs. Persephone smiled widely at it before pouring herself a large drink.. after all she was drinking for two.. and then took a mouthful, swallowing and sighing pleasantly refreshed. She made a noise of amusement as the familiar fuzzy warm feeling bloomed from her large bump.

'Settle down sweetie..' Persephone crooned, stroking her bump. '-daddy will be finished soon.'

* * *

'Tell me again..' Hecate sounded, her eyes widening with delight and her violet lips twisting into a devious jagged leer.

'-but Hecate..' The one wolf started before his mistress cut him off in a loud commanding tone.

'I _need_ to hear it again.' Her silver eyes flashed dangerously and the wolves relented, there was no arguing with that look.

'The Queen's aura is practically non-existent and her powers have completely diminished..' The first wolf spoke again causing Hecate's nostrils to flare with excitement.

'-and with Hades and the minions distracted by their duties she will be alone and defenceless against a great deity such as yourself..' The second wolf added in a flattering tone to witch Hecate nodded appreciatively, flattery would always get her minions on her good side.

Hecate walked over to her long spindly blue-flamed torch, she picked it up and twirled it slowly in her fingers musing thoughtfully. She had been planning for this day a long time… and finally, it was here. This takeover plot was by far the most risky scheme she had ever come up with but with two gods to overpower she had little choice in the matter… now was her last chance to seize control of the Underworld. Hades was expanding his subterranean family and it would just mean more obstacles to get passed the longer she left it.. It was now or never. She had to go for broke, lay all her cards on the table and hope that the Fates were on her side because this was her final stand.

It seemed almost anti-climatic.

The witch felt like welling up in tears..

'This is it boys..' Hecate suddenly whipped around, sounding like a general delivering the battle plan to her lieutenants... the wolves even sat in a perfectly straight posture like loyal soldiers waiting for their orders. '-the moment we've been waiting for, the moment that we've been plotting out for months..'

'So when do you want us to begin phase alpha?' The wolf nearest her sounded keenly, his long yellow eyes narrowed in delight. Hecate swivelled around to the wolf then lowered herself to his level, the wolf blinked then grimaced uncomfortably.

'Well-' Hecate then stretched out a finger and pulled on the brand-new dog tag that Hephaestus had made for her. '-Mayhem..' She read the tag before letting go and turning away and looking at the clock. '-we'll enter the Underworld tomorrow and wait until Hades and his pathetic minions are far away from their precious little Queen and then they'll all fall..' The witch's eyes narrowed evilly as a horrible twisted smile curved her face, all of it highlighted by the blue flamed-torch. '-one by one..'

* * *

So the next morning Hecate and her two minions entered the Underworld through the secluded way the wolves had discovered only a few days earlier. It was traditionally a way that souls used when they couldn't afford to pay Charon for a more direct route to the docks by the House of Hades. It wasn't the most conventional way inside the fiery god's realm but at least the rocky terrain hid them from view of the Styx. When they finally reached their destination, where the Styx forked into it's tributary river the Acheron, Hecate and her two minions approached the river bank.

In the brief moment they stood on the banks of the Styx a soft growling noise sounded and the Goddess of Witchcraft swivelled to her minions, glaring at them for this disruption of the deathly silence of the Underworld.

'Oh shut up..' She hissed at them irritably, barely registering their confusion. '-do you want Hades to catch us?' Both wolves had heard the low growling too and they looked around as Hecate blamed them for it. There was a brief look of confusion in their eyes before it melted away in fear at the sight of what was standing behind their mistress.

'It's not us making that noise..' The wolf furthest away from Hecate sounded fretfully.

'-it's him!' The other spoke in a terrified voice as three sets of slobbering jaws bared their teeth and the growling rose in volume.

Hecate blinked, realising what must be making the low rumbling snarl. She swivelled around to see an almost full-grown Cerberus spitting and snarling like a hell-hound possessed. Although the witch was surprised by how much the three-headed mutt had grown.. after all, he had only been a puppy the last time she had seen him.. she knew just how to deal with this mindless 'puppy'.

'Down boy!' She sounded in a commanding voice pointing her long spindly torch at Cerberus. For a brief moment the three-headed dog looked confused before a torrent of blue flames spurted forth burning his three noses. Cerberus yelped, sounding like a wounded puppy and scampered off down the riverbank away from Hecate.

'Let's go..' Hecate sounded firmly to her wolves, floating upwards from the ground and gracefully gliding across the narrower waters of the Styx. The wolves both spread their wings and followed their mistress and landed neatly by her side.

'Distract the minions boys..' Hecate spoke turning her back on the two wolves and approaching the corner that would lead to the Grove of Lethe. She stooped as she reached it and turned with a wicked leer. '-I have a Queen to capture..'

Both wolves threw her a twisted sneer back and watched as the witch vanished around the corner. Then thy both grinned at each other and turned in the opposite direction.

'Remember..' The wolf on the right sounded. '-we only have until Hades returns from his Tartarus Inspection-'

'Yeh, yeh..' The second drawled cutting his brother off and rolling his eyes. '-you just sound like mom..'

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey Everybody, I know it seems like I'm abandoning my other fics in favour of this one right now but I promise I will come back to them… it's just I have reached a very exciting point in the plot of Daddy's Little Hellraiser and I'm so excited that I can't even think about the others _

_Ok, this is was an important chapter even though it was mostly just Hecate and her minions, I promise the Underworld deities and their minions will be back in the next chapter as the witch's plot unfolds.._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy x_

_P.S. I have a brand-new twitter account for anybody who wants to tweet me… I'll be tweeting about storylines, insights into characters and little glimpses into the girl behind the writer… /#!/DitzyMinx ...hope to see some of you soon.. X_


	21. For Queen and Underworld

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Twenty-One:****For Queen and Underworld**

Pain and Panic were down the docks of the Styx with their clipboards checking in the new arrivals. As his pink partner scribbled down the last details Panic turned to Charon.

'This year's been kinda light don'tcha think?'

'Oh yeh..' The skeletal boatman nodded. '-but you gotta bear in mind that it's only the start of season and when the Proserpina Plague kicks in this place will be jumpin' with 'em.'

'I suppose..' The green imp sounded thoughtfully.

The next second there was three harmonious and petrified girly shrieks and all three subterranean guys turned in the direction of the front entrance to the House of Hades. It took them a moment to realise that it had been the three Sirens that had screamed out.

'Heh, maybe they saw their own reflections in a mirror..' Pain said laughing.

'Yeh..' Panic chortled amused. '-either that or they've spotted another 'icky beastie'..' He air-quoted the words the nymph-girls used to describe insects, as like most girly-girls they had a phobia of anything that was small and bug-like.

Then they heard snarling noises and nervous girly whimpering which made them stop laughing and frown in confusion and concern, they might joke and laugh about those three air-headed Sirens but deep down the imps thought of them like sisters. Charon on the other hand picked up his oar before addressing the imps.

'Maybe you boys should go check that out..'

'Aren't you coming with us?' Pain automatically asked causing the skeletal boatman to snort into wheezing laughter.

'No.. remember, I just row the boat..' He then pushed off the docks and began rowing back up the Styx humming his favourite tune, which just so happened to be 'row, row, row your boat'. Pain and Panic watched him leave for a moment with surprised faces.

'Coward..' Panic snorted before both imps ditched their clipboards and scurried off to find out what was going on…

… at the same moment Hecate slipped into the Grove of Lethe. The witch looked around the silent eerie beauty of the grove which was tucked away in a large circular gully, secluded from the rest of the Underworld. With it's dreary trees, sinister bushes and innocently glowing night-blossoms this place was probably the most beautiful place in the dark and gloomy realm. Hecate glided noiselessly over the ground, her silvery eyes searching for the Queen of the Underworld. The witch soon found the pregnant goddess under a particularly dismal-looking willow tree. She then dropped down to her feet beside the Queen of the Underworld deliberately making a noise to attract her attention.

Persephone swivelled her blonde head around and her bright green eyes widened in shock at the sight of Hecate standing in her grove.

'What do you want..' The pregnant goddess sounded curling her lip in revulsion at Hecate. It wasn't a question, it was a statement expressing her displeasure at seeing the Goddess of Witchcraft in her territory. Persephone made a mental note to talk to Hades about security when he finally returned from his inspection of Tartarus.

'Hi..' Hecate said lightly, keeping her voice friendly. '-I was just looking for Hades, is he around?' She asked innocently causing Persephone to sigh heavily.

'No he's not..' She sounded stiffly. '-_my _husband is an extremely busy god unlike _some-deities _who _clearly_ have too much time on their hands.' Hecate's smile faltered at Persephone's lofty tone, obviously this ignorant little goddess had forgotten just what it was that she did as a deity.

'Oh…' Hecate drawled in a low mock-sympathetic tone. 'That's too bad..' She flashed the young goddess a wide toothy leer which quickly vanished. '-for you!' She declared and twirled her torch with a flourish.

The expectant young queen could only give out a squeak of surprise as a long tendril of a strange sticky substance, almost like thick spider webs, issued from Hecate's glowing torch and wrapped Persephone up tight. The Queen of the Underworld who was now bound and gagged narrowed her eyes at the witch before her and she made several loud muffled angry noises towards Hecate.

The witch merely laughed in amusement.

'What's that?' She sounded in mock-misunderstanding. 'I can't understand you because you have a little..' She broke off gesturing to the goddess' gag. '-covering your mouth..' Persephone merely rolled her eyes wearily at this comment before making a brief angry grunt of disgust..

'Oh, shut up..' Hecate sounded irritably, whacking Persephone over the head with her flaming torch. The force of the blow instantly knocked the young Queen of the Underworld unconscious and the witch grinned evilly…

…as the imps rounded the corner to the corner they heard the angry squeal of Tele.

'Leave her alone you big brute..' The Siren ringleader spread her white feathery wings and swooped over the wolf who had been snapping at her sister Molpe and pulled him by the ears.

'Ack..' The wolf gasped in pain before shaking himself violently and the Siren was bucked off, Tele skidded into the black jagged wall with a sharp 'oof' of anguish. The wolf turned on the Siren who stood up gingerly and winced flexing her right wing tentatively. Realising quickly that she'd sprained it Tele then pressed herself flat against the wall looking worried as the winged wolf advanced. His twin brother meanwhile had managed to grab a hold of Raidne and was happily pulling feathers out of the terrified Siren's wings… Molpe seemed to be swivelling her head between her sisters scared and unsure about who she should to go and help first.

Pain and Panic snarled, instantly recognising Hecate's slobbering assistants and both imps grabbed a sharp stick each and held them out in front of them. They then picked their opponent, Pain locked onto Havoc who was plucking Raidne and Panic lanced Mayhem who had Tele cornered, then raising their sharp sticks both imps yelled out,

'_Chaaaarge!_' Then as both Havoc and Mayhem turned in surprise as both Pain and Panic shot forward yelling battle cries…

* * *

…_meanwhile, deep in the depths of Tartarus…_

'-and as you can see my lord the punishment has slowly whittled away his mind.' Kampe gestured to the lone man on his tiny island who was staring blankly like a zombie. The demon jailer snickered amused at his suffering before moving away from Tantalus, the mass of keys and set of handcuffs jangled as she moved.

Hades shuddered, Kampe was one of the few subordinates under his employ that really creeped him out. Although he had not hired her himself, she had been their since Cronos' rule, the demon had proved herself a worthy candidate to run Tartarus in his absence.

When they had been planning Cronos' downfall it had been Hades' mother Nyx who had suggested that her son seek out Kampe and convince her to release the Cyclopes, she thought that he was the best candidate to do this. Hades remembered first meeting Kampe very well, she'd freaked him out then too… but he had been a cocky arrogant teen with a motor-mouth so fast that he could charm even the most hard-nosed being into doing his bidding.

Kampe had always held Hades in high regard, she of course had heard of the youngest son of Nyx and Erebus through her own father the primeval Tartarus, this made them cousins and family was important to the demon jailer. The realm was like a subterranean version of Gaia, the whole realm was alive and like his daughter Tartarus revelled in the anguish of others but he and his daughter only wished to see those suffer who deserved it.

'Hey, that's great Kampe..' The fiery god quipped rubbing his hands together bringing himself back into the present. '_So_.. how's Peirithous holdin' up..' A nasty leer spread over his full blue lips and a diabolical glint in his yellow eyes. Kampe turned and smirked at the god, amusement showed in her bright red irises.

'Why don't you come and see for yourself my liege..'

'With pleasure..' Hades drawled then laughed in the same soft cruel tone.

* * *

…_back on the Underworld surface…_

'Hey… ow… easy now..' Mayhem winced as Panic smacked him several times with the sharp stick hard and Tele scurried away fearfully from the battling minions over to her sister Molpe. The green imp merely looked peeved by the fact that the wolves were picking on the 'defenceless' girls.

At the same moment,

'Ouch… hey, that was my eye..' Havoc whined as Pain jabbed him with his sharp stick causing a terrified Raidne to dart over to her sisters. There was a glint of sadistic delight in the chubby pink imp's eyes as he continued to batter the wolf, clearly enjoying the pain he was inflicting.

Both wolves began snarling in deep throaty growls baring their incredibly sharp, yellowing canines. They lowered themselves into an attack position as though readying themselves to pounce. Neither imp flinched but kept a firm grip on their stick, readying themselves to defend the Sirens and their realm for both Hades and Persephone. Suddenly a firm female voice sounded from above them.

'Havoc, Mayhem..' All seven minions swivelled their heads upwards to see Hecate flying a broomstick and just below her suspended by those thin, but strong sticky spidery-web-things was an unconscious Persephone. '-stop messing around and just grab one of them!' All five of thee Underworld minions gasped at the sight of their captured queen.

Taking advantage the imps shock, the wolf brothers lunged and seized Molpe by an ankle each before spreading their wings and taking off with the screaming Siren in their teeth. Raidne and Tele both screamed out and tried to grab their sister but since both could no longer fly, they were unable to pursue the wolves who were now flying behind their mistress.

Pain and Panic both dropped their weapons and took off, chasing the wolves and Molpe, who was wriggling and trying to break free of her captors. However both Hecate and the wolves were far too fast for the imps and they quickly managed to pull away from them. Both Pain and Panic were forced to retire once the reached the docks of the Styx. After a few minutes both Raidne and Tele appeared beside them on the stone black jetty. The four minions could only watch helplessly as Hecate and her wolves disappeared with both Molpe and the pregnant Queen of the Underworld.

Hades was not going to happy when he came back from Tartarus..

* * *

When Persephone came to her head was pounding. Groaning slightly she tried to rub the back of her head before realising that she was strapped against a chair by those sticky binds. The pregnant Queen of the Underworld wrestled with the bindings that were holding her arms around the back of her chair but it was no use… clearly these were magical webs and with the baby asleep in her womb the goddess was powerless to break free. Giving up with a restricted sigh the goddess looked around her surroundings. She was inside some kind of cavern which was dusty and dimly lit by only a few dull yellowy torches. Persephone wrinkled her nose at the dirt… sure, her home was dark and gloomy too but at least it was clean.

The next second the Queen of the Underworld's pretty green eyes narrowed as Hecate appeared in the doorway. The pale-lilac goddess flashed Persephone a wide sharp-fanged smirk ad her silvery eyes narrowed in amusement as she strode over and ripped the gag from Persephone's mouth.

'_Filthy witch!_' The pregnant goddess snapped the moment her gag was off, she then spat on Hecate. The Goddess of Witchcraft's smirk vanished and she calmly wiped the glob of spit off of her cheek and sighed.

'I see your mother's manners didn't rub off onto you..'

'Why would I waste manners on the likes of _you_..' Persephone snorted with disgust eyeing the witch as though she was something revolting on her sandal. '-now let me out of these stupid things and I won't send your skinny butt down to Tartarus-'

'Ah-ah-ah-_aah_..' Hecate interrupted the goddess, waggling a finger in a reprimanding manner smirking amused again. '-we're not in the Underworld anymore Persephone, we're in the Nether-regions.. my realm. Which means that you hold no dominion over me..'

The Queen of the Underworld scowled at Hecate but knew she was right. Despite the Nether-regions being next-door to the Underworld it was not technically under Hades' rule and here, Hecate was free to do what she wanted without reprisal.

'What do you want Hecate..' Persephone sighed heavily, her green eyes looking at the witch with weary submission.

'Well, you might remember a while back..' Hecate sounded conversationally. '-you and I had a little conversation on the docks of the Styx..' Persephone looked nonplussed by this and blinked at the witch, as if she would bother remembering anything that Hecate had said.

'It was before you were married to Hades..' The Goddess of Witchcraft hinted helpfully and The Queen of the Underworld racked her brains before finally remembering what Hecate was on about. It had been when the witch was trying to ward Persephone off of the Lord of the Underworld.

'What about it..' Persephone raised one eyebrow suspiciously at the witch, wondering where she was going with this.

'Do you remember what it was that I said?' Hecate spoke in a heavily hinted voice. For a moment the pregnant goddess looked confused before it came flooding back to her:

'_Hades is a jerk! He'll use you then ditch you when he's bored with you..' Hecate had hissed crossly._

'_You don't know what your talking about..' Persephone had responded in a soft low voice._

'_Oh please… you think he cares about you?' Hecate had snorted. 'He doesn't. the only thing Hades cares about is power.. If given the choice between you or the Underworld, he'd pick the Underworld… every time!'_

In that moment Persephone suddenly knew what Hecate was planning to do.

'You wouldn't..' The pregnant goddess sounded crossly, now more than ever wishing that the baby would wake up so she could bust out of here.

'Heh, but I already have..' Hecate smirked a horrible leer at the Queen of the Underworld. '-you see, even as we speak one of your little Sirens is delivering my ultimatum to Hades..'

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey Peeps, as I promised on twitter this is one action-packed chapter and the title of the chap is taken from 'for Queen and country' which is often uttered by soldiers in battle, it seemed appropriate since the imps were trying to defend the Underworld._

_The memory is taken directly from P.o.P, which gives you some sort of idea of how long this storyline has been in my head although only the speech is a direct quote._

_Stay tuned to see how Hades reacts to this open challenge for his throne next time… and don't forget to review!_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	22. There's no Negotiations with a Witch

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Twenty-Two:****There's no Negotiations with a Witch**

'Ahh..' Hades sighed heavily as he reappeared in the throne room from his Tartarus Inspection. '-there's nothing like watching the pain and suffering of other people to make ya feel good about yourself..' The fiery god beamed widely before spotting his bruised and battered minions. However his smile only faltered for a moment as not even the imps unsightly bruises and the two Sirens' damaged wings was going to dampen his good mood.

'What is this?' He sounded smirking to himself. 'An office or an infirmary?' Hades turned away shaking his head amused before blinking bemused and turning to the Sirens.

'Isn't there supposed to be three of you?' He asked the two girls who looked uneasily at each other. 'Oh nevermind..' The fiery god continued pacing while waving a hand dismissively as though not wishing for an answer, not that he'd have got one because the four minions present were all looking both hesitant and scared about revealing the truth. '-I'm sure she's just with my wife..' Hades paused at this point glancing around the small group of minions.

'So..' The fiery god sounded still keeping his voice light. '-where is my little night blossom anyway?'

Both Sirens and Pain all turned to Panic, in response to this the little green imp blinked before glancing at his peers and frowning at them.

'Why do you guys always look at me?' Panic sounded huffily placing his little green hands on his hips and pouting irritably.

'Because your so good at delivering this kind of news..' Pain said confidently slapping his green skinny partner on the back.

'Eh… Hello…' Hades snapped irritably, he hated being ignored. Both imps and Sirens turned back to their boss who's flame hair had turned white hot out of annoyance. '-yeh hi, Lord of the Dead still here.. now how 'bout an answer, hmm?' Hades was no idiot, he could see that his minions were hiding something and he had a nasty suspicion that it had something to do with his wife since neither imp nor Siren wanted to tell him where she was.

Once again Tele, Raidne and Pain turned expectantly to Panic and the green imp sighed exasperated and glared at them… they were such cowards.

'Well..' Panic's voice sounded nervously as his body shook with fear. '-the thing is… uh… we-' He glanced at his minions and they all shared the same look of sorrow. '-kinda… lost Miss Persephone..' He shut his eyes tight knowing what was coming.

'_What!_' Hades roared in both horror and shock then instantly his skin instantly flashed brilliant orange as his white-hot flames jumped three feet in the air. '_Whatta ya mean you lost my wife?_'

'It wasn't our fault..' Pain instantly jumped into his partner's defence causing the towering inferno that was Hades to swivel sharply in his direction. Pain trembled nervously as the Sirens, who had never seen their fiery boss this mad before, squeaked in fear and clutched each other anxiously.

'The witch took her..'

'Hecate did- _What!_' The fiery god bellowed furiously and instantly began pacing again trying work of the small pit of panic that was slowly eating away his insides. The god had instantly switched back to blue as a worried expression etched it's way across his face. This was bad… this was very bad. If the witch had Persephone then he was in some serious trouble.. It meant that Hecate was making a play for his Underworld throne and with his wife's powers completely unstable it would risky to both her and the baby to try and escape. However it also meant that since his kingdom was now under siege he could not leave to go rescue his darling little Sephykins in case that crafty witch stole his throne out from under his nose. It was a classic catch-XX situation and one that Hades did not like..

'How did the witch even get close to my wife in the first place?' The fiery god sounded, returning his attention to the four minions who were still nervous but had calmed down as there boss' rage left..

'She sent her wolves to distract us..' Tele sounded instantly stepping forward. '-and when the guys came to our rescue-' She gestured at Pain and Panic who stiffened briefly with pride. '-they snatched Molpe and flew off after Hecate and Miss Persephone.' Hades blinked stunned but it made sense… Hecate had obviously used some kind of cloaking spell to get inside the Underworld, her minions were not much of a threat so they wouldn't have too much difficulty in entering the realm, then once inside all she had to do was keep his minions occupied while she subdued his wife.

It was a master-stroke.

But unfortunately the witch would have needed to know that he was going to be in Tartarus so that she could pull this off, which meant that she had to have had inside information. _Dammit!… _Hades cursed inwardly… _That blasted witch was too smart for her own good. _The fiery god began pacing again pondering on how Hecate had gotten this information… it seemed most likely that she had sent her slobbering sidekicks Havoc and Mayhem in to spy on them, it was the most logical answer. However this raised more issues than it answered.

How long had they been watching them?

How much did she know about them?

The longer Hades pondered this, the more worried he got. Did Hecate know about the power situation between Persephone and the baby? Hades' initial instincts said no.. He suspected that Hecate thought his wife was powerless which was far from the truth. Persephone was packing power for two, it was just it took both beings to be conscious for those powers to work.

Hades sighed heavily as he slumped down on his throne before resting his elbows on his wide armrests and placing his fingertips to his lower lip. There was nothing the fiery Lord of the Underworld could do… except wait for Hecate to issue her terms, which was obviously why she had taken Molpe..

* * *

'Stop it! Stop it! _Stop it!_' Persephone squealed out distressed as Havoc and Mayhem snapped at Molpe's heels and the youngest Siren whimpered fearfully, tears running down her cheeks. Hecate smirked amused by the Queen of the Underworld's anguish but straightened and beckoned her minions to back off. Both Havoc and Mayhem took one last swipe at the Siren's face before backing off as their mistress laughed amused. The Siren dropped silently weeping while trembling fearfully, there were deep scratches on her cheek now.

'What?' The witch sounded at the black look Persephone gave her. 'Wolves will be wolves..' Hecate then snorted when the white-skinned goddess frowned even harder at her.

The witch then turned away from the Goddess of Life and wandered over to Molpe who was crouched on the floor fearfully, her violet eyes downcast to the dusty cave floor. The youngest Siren was covered in bruises and their were several slashes in her knee-length purple chiton. She had teeth marks on her ankles and wrists from where Havoc and Mayhem had restrained her. Apart from these obvious injures and being a little shaken up she was alright but she refused to look up from the floor as Hecate approached her.

'You. Nymph..' Hecate sounded rudely to the minion in front of her.

'Siren..' Persephone automatically corrected her. 'She's a Siren..' The Queen of the Underworld scowled as Hecate turned to her but the witch didn't seem to care and automatically turned away with nothing more than a sniff of disapproval. Persephone made an immature face at the witch's snooty attitude wishing that she wasn't strapped up to a chair so she could teach her some respect for her minors.

'Siren-' Hecate started to address the minion but Persephone cut her off again.

'Molpe..' The goddess spoke causing Hecate to swivel back to Persephone scowling deeply. '-if your going to address _my _minion you'll have the _decency_ to call her by her name!' The goddess snapped angrily causing Hecate to wave her hand vaguely at the pregnant goddess. Instantly the sticky gag was back on Persephone's mouth and the witch returned to her minion sighing heavily.

'Is your mistress always this insolent?' She vented, her nostrils flaring irritably but the Siren didn't respond. 'Nevermind..' Hecate shook her head wearily before pulling a scroll out of nowhere and thrusting it into the Sirens hands. Molpe blinked at the scroll confused before daring to look up at Hecate. The witch flashed her a twisted jagged leer.

'Take that to your master..' She sounded in a cool tone. '-I'm sure he'll find it quite illuminating.' Her silvery eyes flashed with evil glee which made the youngest Siren blink then turn unsurely to her mistress who was gagged and strapped to the chair behind.

Persephone gave a restricted sigh and nodded resignedly, there was nothing she could do as the witch was holding onto all of the cards. The goddess then watched her minion leave the grotto with a mournful look… all she could do was wait.

After all, she knew what Hades would pick…

* * *

Charon had been relaxing in his long black gondola reading the sports section of the _Greekly World News_, in truth the news-scroll had gone downhill ever since Homer had retired as editor to chase some Muse-inspired dream of becoming a poet and a bard. Still, the scroll wasn't nearly as bad as the Trojans performance in the last Olympic games.

The skeletal boatman snickered a dry wheezy laugh at the story.

'Oh man..' He sounded amused to himself. '-you guys were doomed from the start!' He then rolled his hollow eye sockets. 'And who was the moron that picked a wooden horse to be your emblem? That's just askin' for trouble!' He then flicked through the other sections of the news-scroll still snickering to himself. 'Whatta bunch of jokers..'

While Charon was distracted by the funnies a pale figure approached the edge of the boat. It's messed up blonde hair was hanging in an untidy high ponytail and it was floating just above ground level for a few moments before flopping onto the ground causing the skeletal boatman to swivel around in shock.

'Oh my days..' Charon burst out in surprise taking in the bruised and battered form of a minty-pale winged-nymph who was on her knees beside him. '-what happened to you?' The skeletal boatman sounded concerned dropping his news-scroll and helping the Siren into the gondola and settling her down on the bench opposite him. Charon was one of the few beings under Hades' employ that didn't like to get involved with his boss' schemes and because he kept his nose clean the skeletal boatman had earned himself a few privileges, such as a certain percentage of the money he took off of the souls entering the Underworld.

Molpe didn't seem to react to him, except merely to flinch slightly at Charon's touch, she only sat silently staring at the black wooden floor of the gondola. The skeletal boatman then sighed picking up his oar and pushed off from the jetty. Since the Sirens were minions of Persephone they, like Hades' imps, rode for free.

As Charon rowed the boat through the main entrance of the Underworld which opened automatically with a heavy grinding noise. The young Siren merely remained perched gloomily on the gondola bench not speaking or moving, at least until Cerberus started barking and that made Molpe squeak startled and finally lift her head revealing her face which had been shielded by her lank hair. She had claw gashes on the side of her face but when the youngest Siren caught the boatman looking concerned she quickly downcast her eyes again. Charon didn't really have time to question the nymph about it as Cerberus was practically barking in his ears.

'Ahh, shut up you stupid mutt!' The skeletal boatman whacked Cerberus over his middle nose with the long gondola oar. The three-headed dog snarled in irritation and growled at the long thin black stick that had struck him. Cerberus' six red eyes narrowed, his nose wrinkled up and his teeth bared, then the next second the large three-headed dog had seized the oar and began shaking it roughly.

'Hey!' Charon snapped holding onto the oar more tightly as the boat rocked dangerously. 'Give that back! Hades makes me pay for these y'know..' Cerberus tugged again as though this were some bizarre tug-of-war game. Finally, after a sharp jerk Charon managed to wrench the oar from Cerberus' jaws.

'Yeuch… dog-drool..' Charon muttered wiping off the large slaver on his oar before noticing a large bite mark and sighing… The boss' guard-dog-in-training was completely out of control but at least he hadn't managed to snap the oar this time.

As the gondola slowly stopped rocking and gently floated downstream Cerberus yipped excitably and lowered himself to a pouncing stance, wagging his tail furiously as his six eyes remained on the oar in Charon's bony grip. The skeletal boatman suddenly smirked as he knew what the idiotic three-headed mutt wanted.

'You want the stick?' Charon sounded raising the long pole as though he were going to throw it. Cerberus leapt up before doing a little bouncy side-to-side movement still yapping excitedly. He really was just a big playful puppy at heart.

'You want it boy?' Charon repeated in a false baby voice before adding, 'Fetch!' He then pretended to throw the stick, not that Cerberus knew the difference as he bounded off barking. The skeletal boatman gave another wheezing laugh of amusement.

'I gotta hand it to that mutt..' Charon chuckled dryly. '-he's the only one who makes those imps look intelligent..'

Molpe looked up at the boatman's condescending words and frowned slightly, since the two imps had tried to save her from the wolves she felt a new sense of respect for them. But then Molpe lowered her head again as Charon began to row.

* * *

'Look..' Tele cried from the circular window of the throne room, pointing out as Charon and his gondola drifted into the docks and a small pale minty figure with messy ice blonde hair got out. At the sound of the eldest Siren's voice her sister and both imps rushed to the window, all four craning out to get a peep at the figure on the docks.

'It's Molpe..' Raidne sounded, relief filling her voice at the sight of her baby sister who was alive and well.

'She's ok!' Pain beamed widely, pleased to see her.

'Thank the Fates..' Panic sighed heavily. Then all four minions jumped down from the window ledge and began dashing towards the stairway that led down to the Styx.

At least they did until Hades' voice made them all stop dead in their tracks.

'Ah ah ah-ah… not so fast..'

Hades had not moved from his throne, he had been purposely waiting for the Siren to return as she was carrying the scroll for his wife's ransom. The Sirens and imps turned slowly around to their boss as the fiery god grinned a twisted smirk. '-aren't we forgetting something?' Hades' round golden eyes narrowed as he stood up abruptly, towering over the minions who now backed away with embarrassed simpering looks. In their haste to see their sister and partner the four minions had forgotten that the youngest Siren may hold information on their Queen. They watched anxiously as Hades headed down the stairway to the Styx then they quickly followed him.

When the fiery god reached the bottom step of the blue-torchlight stairwell he looked taken aback by the state of the little nymph girl, clearly Hecate had let her wolves rough her up a bit before letting her go. Molpe didn't say anything to her flame-haired boss but held out the scroll that Hecate had given her with trembling fingers. The second Hades took the scroll off of her the tiny Siren flew over to her sisters who had been watching from the stairs with the imps. Both Tele and Raidne hugged their baby sister sobbing happily as Pain and Panic studied her injures before pulling antiseptic and gauze out of nowhere and tending to her.

Hades meanwhile skim-read the note that was written in Hecate's intricate scrawl before glaring at what was written. His skin and flames slowly smouldered a light, bright shade of angry orange as the god shook with badly repressed fury. The scroll that was now clenched between his fists burnt away as Hades' blood boiled at the witch's demand. The fiery Lord of the Underworld had always kept a policy of not negotiating with witches, _especially _this witch, but Hecate had him backed firmly into a corner… he had no choice.

In order to rescue his pregnant wife he would have to give the witch _exactly_ what she wanted..

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey Peeps, the title of this chapter really comes from the fact that Hecate and the rulers of the Underworld don't think that much of each other and the fact that the witch is calling all the shots._

_In the episode 'Hercules and the Secret Weapon' it shows Charon is a big sports fan (although how he follows it I have no idea), I just carried it on with him and poking a little more fun at the Trojans, which Disney did many times in the film and T.V series._

_Stay tuned.. and don't forget to review…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	23. The Fear Factor, Underworld Version

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

* * *

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Twenty-Three:The ****Fear Factor, Underworld Version**

Alright!' Hades suddenly sighed swivelling to his five minions who had been watching him smoulder on the spot after reading the small scroll Hecate had sent him. Whatever had been on the scroll seemed to be bothering him. Pain and Panic of course had a small inkling about what the witch was after in exchange for their Queen and unborn better.

'It looks like this could get very dicey..' The fiery god mused rubbing the bridge of his nose in exasperation, having to deal with Hecate was always a chore he could do without. '-Pain, Panic..' Both imps winced at the sound of Hades' aggravated tone even though, for once, his annoyance wasn't aimed at them. '-I want you boys to go with the girls to the Elysian Fields and stay there until I say otherwise, capeesh?'

'But sir-' Panic started concerned.

'I said 'capeesh'..' Hades' eyes narrowed irritably, he did not want any of his minions to see what he was about to do. In fact he wished there was another way but there was not. He was just going to have to bite the bullet and get this over with… but first he had to make sure that all his minions were out of sight before he lowered himself into going to the home of Hecate.

'Whatever you say your most churlishness..' Pain sounded cheerfully as the three girls nodded like those ridiculous ornaments they sold for the front of your chariot, the minions were positively stoked that they didn't have to get involved with another lousy takeover plot… but Panic couldn't help but be worried since their boss was choosing to go down this path alone..

'Are you sure you don't want our help?' The green imp sounded instantly and although Hades was touched by the concern he masked it under a head of orange flames.

'For the love of Erebus, _yes!_' The fiery god exploded, instantly all five minions dashed off in the direction of the realms of a blessed afterlife not wishing to be scorched for upsetting the boss. The moment both imps and Sirens had disappeared out of sight Hades reined in his flames returning blue.

'Aye-yi-yi…' He sighed heavily, shaking his head roughly before snapping back to the situation at hand, the fiery god swivelled around sharply and strode off in the opposite direction, heading towards the docks of the Styx.

Charon who'd been unloading a couple of souls onto the docks looked up surprised by the sight of his flame-haired boss who was marching straight towards him. The two transparent pale glowing souls could only gawp in amazement as their fiery ruler brushed passed them quipping,

'Hey, hey thanks for droppin' in, if ya leave your details at the side-' He gestured to the abandoned clipboards on the jetty post beside the black spindly arch. '-and someone will get back to ya on your afterlife soon.' Hades then whipped around to the skeletal boatman who was eyeing his boss with a wary look, it wasn't often that the Lord of the Underworld sought him out.

'Yo Charon..' Hades beamed widely with narrowed eyes while rubbing his large greyish-blue palms together. '-take five buddy I need the boat..' Charon raised his brow questioningly at this as this was not a request he received often.

'Err, are you sure I can't just navigate you there boss?' The skeletal boatman wheezed in his gravely voice, clutching his oar protectively as he was very attached to his gondola.

'Your kvetchin' about time off?' Hades blinked stunned for a few moments, completely thrown by this underling's response, before the god recovered and smirked amused. 'Charon _baabe_, I know that work is like crack to you and your totally in love with this boat-' The fiery god failed to notice how offended Charon looked about this evaluation. '-but seriously, if ya don't hand over that oar right now your gonna be in whole heapa trouble-'

'Ok, ok..' The skeletal boatman sounded waving his hands in a 'that's enough' gesture as his scowl vanished instantly at the mention of the T-word. '-here take the oar, I don't want no trouble..'

'Heh, I knew you'd see it my way..' Hades sounded as his leer widened triumphantly, his hands gripping the oar. It was then that the fiery god spotted the large bite-mark in the middle of the long black pole.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa..' Hades suddenly spoke as Charon retrieved his newscroll and coin purse from the gondola. '-what happened here?' He gestured to the teeth-indent as the boatman looked around.

'Why don't you ask your dog..' Charon replied, frowning at the bite-mark before heading off somewhere quiet to read in peace until his boss was finished with his gondola. Hades blinked at this response before scowling at the teeth-indent Cerberus had made.

'Lousy mutt..' He griped moodily to himself. '-we're livin' in Bones'R'us and he has to see everything as a _freakin_' chew toy..' The fiery god tailed off into indistinguishable muttering about what he was going to do with Cerberus when he got hold of him before Hades turned around and looked out at the incredibly wide river Styx.. and it's teaming souls.

_Oh Tartarus…_

His golden eyes widened in horror as he gazed out. In his haste to get all his minions out of the way Hades had completely forgotten about his phobia of large expanses of water brimming with the souls of dead people. The god's palms grew sweaty and his upper lip twitched fearfully.

_Heh, on second thoughts maybe this wasn't such a good idea.._

* * *

'Y'know..' Hecate sounded stifling a fake yawn. '-your husband sure is taking his sweet time, are you sure he cares about you as much as you think?'

'Your crazy..' Persephone retorted hotly, trying to cover-up the fact that she had also been wondering where Hades had got to.

'Ho-hum..' Hecate responded letting her words slide. '-maybe so but I'm not the one who's in serious trouble now am I?' She smirked amused.

'You will be..' The pregnant goddess jerked and squirmed in her seat hoping to wake the unborn baby in her womb. '-when my husband get's a hold of you he'll-'

'Oh please..' Hecate drawled waving her hand exasperatedly. '-spare me the dramatics. The only way Hades will ever get to see you again is if he gives me _exactly_ what I want..' She smiled sweetly now, flashing Persephone her neat and white sharp teeth while ignoring the pregnant goddess' wriggling. She merely assumed that Persephone was trying and failing to break free, after all these bindings were only mortal-proof not god-proof.

After a few more moments of jostling around the pregnant goddess gave up, it seemed the infant inside her huge bump took after it's daddy in the sleep-stakes too, when he wasn't suffering night-terrors Hades slept like the dead. The white-skinned Queen of the Underworld blinked at Hecate's words tentatively now, suddenly wishing that Hades would hurry up and get here… Persephone shuddered to think what Hecate would do with her if her husband didn't show..

_Oh Hades… where are you sweet-flames?_

* * *

For a good long while Hades just stood there wrestling between his desire to stay on dry land and his desire to free his wife. He was terrified to take the gondola out into the waters as he knew the moment that he did the souls would probably try to clamber into the boat, however he couldn't leave his heavily pregnant wife alone with that vile scheming witch either. The Fates only knew what Hecate and her slobbering mutts were doing to his wife right now.

Hades frowned and stepped into the gondola sighing heavily as he squeezed his eyes shut and gripped the oar tight in his hands. _C'mon, c'mon… don't be such a friggin' yutz…_ His mind jeered, the god opened his eyes and gingerly lowered the oar over the side of the boat. He looked down at the shallow waters of the muddy Styx bank nervously before retracting the oar quickly as a stray soul drifted passed.

A stab of panic made his chest tighten and his heartbeat race and the god cursed under his breath trying to get his breathing back in order. He cursed Hercules for punching him into the Vortex of Fire seven years ago… lousy self-righteous son of Zeus. Now thanks to that little escapade into the vivid green fiery whirlpool he had developed this stupid fear that was keeping him from going to rescue the two most important beings in his immortal life.

Suddenly the long black oar in his hands stopped shaking nervously as the fact that both Persephone and the baby needed him seemed to snap some sense into the fiery god. Hades then jammed the oar into the water and began to row furiously out into the open Styx. It wasn't until he got out into the open current and his was completely alone and surrounded by hordes of dead souls, all of them facing upwards just inches under the water's surface, did Hades' doubts return..

'Oy vey..' The god moaned tensely as his wide yellow eyes scanned the dozens of faces surrounding the gondola. '-I must be completely mushuga..' He shook his head wearily as he continued to row cautiously up stream, keeping his eyes wary for the first signs of soul activity. He didn't have to wait long as the fiery Lord of the Underworld had only gotten a few meters when there was a flurry of movement from underneath the watery surface. Hades tightened his grip on the oar and rowed quicker trying very hard not to lose what little nerves he had left.

Unfortunately, since souls were streamlined the few that had began tailing the boat easily caught up with it and hoisted themselves up onto their elbows, leaning on the edge of the long black gondola.

Hades who was standing in the dead centre of the boat, gave a yell of mixed surprise and horror as he found himself surrounded by the dead. The souls began to beseech their lord, holding their hands out to either get his attention or grab his chiton. The terrified Lord of the Underworld couldn't make out what they were saying as their combined voices just sounded like haunting wailing and moaning.

Quickly dodging their grabby, ectoplasmic fingers Hades flared irritably at the souls remembering that he was their ruler… he owned them not vice-versa, they bowed down to his whims not the other way around. An instant flash of anger filled him up inside and a fireball materialized in the fingers of his free hand.

'_Get your slimy remains off my boat!_' Hades roared furiously hurling the fireball full-speed at the few on the left-hand side of the gondola. The moment the fireball went through them they let go of the boat, dropping into the water as the ball of fire hissed out in the Styx water. As the fiery god whipped around irritated to the ones on the right side of the gondola they instantly let go.

Hades blinked surprised and he instantly returned blue with a huge wide-fanged smirk on his full blue lips as the souls reintegrated with the traffic flowing under the water.

'Hah!' Hades sounded ecstatically, clutching the side of the gondola still grinning widely. 'Boom-boom and I am back baby!' The god declared gleefully. It seemed that taking care of these misguided souls had cured some part of his phobia… Ok, so he wasn't ready to go swimming with the souls just yet nor was he considering going anywhere near the messed-up souls in the Vortex of Fire. Hades was definitely not ready to face those psychos but just the fact that he was rowing this gondola upstream and he was no longer afraid to be surrounded by these souls as they floated passed was a huge milestone for the fiery god.

The huge smirk was still plastered to Hades' face as he once more began rowing up the river Styx. His eyes were no longer focused on the water and the souls, he felt like a huge weight had just been lifted off of his chest and now he could just enjoy the scenery around the Styx as he paddled along. It had changed dramatically since he had last seen it but then again Hades hadn't been along the river in seven years. The banks of the glowing blue waters were covered in those long-stemmed gloomy pink asphodels and a few clumps of glowing navy-blue star-flowers too. The air was no longer thick with the smell of sulphur, it was sweet with a hint of minty freshness as there were a few dozen of Minthe's descendants dotted around the banks. As the fiery god passed Cerberus' post he found the three-headed dog was not there. But Hades wasn't worried, the mutt was probably off chasing after a wandering soul again.

When Hades finally docked the gondola at the thick black jetty on the opposite side the god noticed that apart from a couple of asphodel groups and a small patch of starflowers that were growing around the dead-restriction sign there was very little plant life here. The god looked around vaguely, trying to familiarise himself with this side of the river Styx again. It had been so long since his last trip to the western side of the Underworld that it all felt slightly foreign to him. The fiery god then stroked his long chin trying to remember how to get to the Nether-Regions. If he remembered correctly the entrance to Hecate's realm was also where Hypnos and his nocturnal family resided, that meant that he had to travel along until the Styx curved around back in the direction of the Elysian Fields. That wasn't too far from where he was now. The fiery god then vanished in a column of flames and smoke.

* * *

When Hades materialized he found himself standing on the border of his domain, looking into the depths of the Nether-Regions. This realm was darker than the realms of the dead, there was next to no light inside it at all, it wasn't quite as pitch black as the void below Tartarus but it was pretty close. Gods and souls very rarely entered here because of the instant sense of foreboding and this was mostly because the Queen of the Night didn't take kindly to houseguests. Hecate like Trivia was considered a being of the crossroads but unlike the God of Information, who was as boring as Lethe, the witch wasn't interested in helping lost souls find their way. She just liked to toy with them for her own amusement..

The fiery Lord of the Underworld knew that just by stepping over this borderline he was no longer going to be in the protection of his own realm and just by leaving the Underworld he was succumbing to the laws of the Nether-Regions meaning that Hecate would hold power over him. The fiery god sighed heavily, both his wife and his unborn child were inside this realm and he had no choice. If he wanted to retrieve them he was going to have to just bite the bolt and go in there. Hades moved his foot and placed it over the shadowy-line that split their realms.

His blue flaming hair rippled as the Lord of the Underworld left his realm and not only had the temperature dropped significantly but the god instantly felt less powerful. Gulping hard and trying to swallow the lump of nerves in his throat Hades walked slowly onwards, the only light in the entire realm was issuing from his own luminous blue hair. His golden eyes swivelled and narrowed as he was sure the shadows of this dark realms were playing tricks on his mind. The black rocky terrain wasn't much different the Underworld but because of the dense darkness Hades could only see as far as the light of his blue hair would let him.

When he came to a corner the fiery god glanced back to the distant glimmer of his Underworld home feeling a stab of remorse, sure he'd whined and kvetched about that place since Zeus had dumped the keys in his hand all those centuries ago… but it was his home.

Part of him didn't want to go through with this, it would be so easy to just turn back and to go home… but without Persephone and the baby he had nothing worth going home to. Hades' resolve hardened at this thought and he clenched his fists and marched straight around the gap in the rocky cliff.

When the fiery god came out on the opposite side of the black rock-face he blinked as he found himself face to face with two average-sized circular holes of light, these dim yellowing spheres of light were glowing ominously from what was obviously the cavernous home of the witch. The fiery god clenched his jaw tightly feeling instant hatred towards the Goddess of Witchcraft.. It boiled to his surface causing Hades' skin to glow an angry shade of orange as his flames seethed yellow. The god stood there for a few moments merely smouldering furiously on the spot unable to move as a dark mist of red hot rage had him rooted, then suddenly the god exploded with one long cry of venomous hatred which echoed around the darkness of the Nether-Regions.

'_Hecate!_'

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey Peeps, OMG, OMG I've been looking forward to writing this part of my story ever since I started writing D.L.H and I can't believe it's finally here! And yeh... the title is just a silly nudge towards the show Fear Factor.. Also please review peeps, I'm hoping to try and beat my review count for P.o.P which at the moment stands as 84 and so please, please, please help me beat it… if you do I will post a sneaky peek on the story that's following this one (trust me, it's gonna be good!) ;D_

_Ok, I know I've dragged out this storyline about Hades' fear of soul-infested waters for a so long now and I felt it was time for him to face it (or at least a small portion of the problem anyway). And for those who forgot the reason behind it (naughty, naughty) you only have to watch the end of the Hercules film to figure out where it manifested from… probably one of my more brilliant links to the film._

_As for the Nether-Regions, the idea for this realm came from my mother's home. Since she lives way out in the sticks there are no street lights and when I used to walk the dog at night I used to get freaked out a little by being alone in the pitch black with nothing but a torch. My mum's house is a really long bungalow and from a distance you only see the two main windows lit up at night (hence the idea for Hecate's home).._

_Last bit I promise! In Greek mythology there was a place between the living and the dead, the Nether-Regions of Sleep where the Gates of Ivory and Horn are located, it was Hypnos' job to guard and control these gates. He would open them for his brother Onerous the God of Dreams (this is where I think Disney got mixed up and labelled Hypnos' sons with their jobs) who would colour the mortals sleep with dreams. There is also the belief that when unconscious mortals find themselves in front of the Gates of Ivory (deceiving) and Horn (fulfilment) they must pick between these two identical gates, if they pick Horn they will be able to wake up again but if they pick Ivory they will not and will find themselves in the Underworld instead.._

_Stay tuned peeps…. And please review.._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	24. Clash of the Underworld Deities

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

* * *

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Twenty-Four:****Clash of the Underworld Deities**

'_Finally_..' The Goddess of Witchcraft drawled in one long over-exaggerated breath rolling her eyes. She snapping her fingers causing the gag to return over Persephone's mouth before the pregnant goddess could respond to her husband's call. '-I _knew_ he'd want you back..' The witch smirked amused at the young goddess who scowled back at her.

'_Hecate! You get your bony keaster out here right now!_' Hades' voice bellowed furiously causing Persephone to give a repressed snigger of amusement and the witch gave a shudder of irritation, he was in her realm bossing her around, who did this guy think he was? The Goddess of Witchcraft then turned to her wolves who were sat either side of Persephone like loyal sentries.

'Make sure our leverage is comfortable until I call for you..'

'Certainly Hecate..' Havoc sounded with a sly grin which his brother echoed.

'-and if she tries to escape..' Mayhem smirked then snapped his large jagged teeth dangerously close to Persephone causing the pregnant goddess to wince loudly and shift away from him. Hecate snickered amused by the goddess' fearful expression.

'Alright boys..' The witch finally sounded after controlling her laughter. '-don't do that too often, we don't want her giving birth to that _thing_..' Persephone glared deeply at this but the witch had already whirled around and was marching outside to meet Hades.

When Hecate stepped out of her house she was greeted by a full-flamed Hades who was lancing her with his most lethal gaze.

'Well it's about _freakin_' time!' The fiery god sounded in an extremely prickly voice. Hecate raised her brows making a small noise of amusement as a smirk flitted over her violet lips.

'That's just what I was going to say to you..' The witch sounded in a light tone, ignoring Hades' ticked off features. 'Was there trouble on the Styx?' The witch asked him her smile widening as the god's eyes narrowed and his orange flames smouldered yellow.

'Where's.. my.. _wife?_' Hades sounded through gritted teeth leaning into Hecate so he was merely inches away from her.

'She's safe..' Hecate sounded still smiling lightly as she wriggled away from Hades' scorching face. '-and you can have her back when I get what I want..' She purred with a hungry glint in her eyes, she could hardly contain her excitement. After all these centuries of trying to take the Underworld from Hades it seemed that finally everything seemed to just fall into place.

The fiery Lord of the Underworld could tell by the steely glint in her eyes that it was true.. He frowned deeply at the witch, she was not only _maddeningly_ impossible to deal with but she also knew him incredibly well which meant that she knew a lot of his tricks and was able to work around them.

He'd always known it would come down to this…

…his kingdom or his family…

…and unfortunately for Hades there was only one answer in his heart..

'You really want these?' The god's skin returned to blue as a heavy feeling of reluctance seemed to fill his chest, Hades then pulled a large hoop with several long silver keys out of his black chiton, letting the them jangle tantalizingly between his long blue fingers. He barely noticed the gasp of delight the witch gave or how her eyes widened like dinner plates at the sight of the keys to her long-desired dream.

The fiery god wasn't looking at the witch, he was gazing at the keys to his realm with almost a twinge of regret. He might have scorned it… he might have even mistreated it… but it was the only home he had ever known. He'd been raised in it's dark recesses, he'd fallen in love in it's gloomy depths, he'd even conceived his baby in it's shadowy isolation… through the good times and the bad the Underworld had always been there for him..

Hecate blinked confused as Hades was gazing thoughtfully at the keys to the Underworld, then suddenly the far-off look was gone and the god's head snapped around to the witch again. His yellow eyes were glinting with hidden knowledge and there was a taunting smirk twisting horribly on his full blue lips.

'If you want 'em..' Hades sounded in a soft voice as he shook the keys unnecessarily. '-go get 'em.' The god raised a brow at the witch as he tossed the keys to his kingdom away into the darkness, then because he had nothing else the witch wanted the fiery god began moving towards the front entrance to Hecate's home.

Hecate's violet lips twisted into an aggravated pout, she _really_ hated that god.. As always Hades had brilliantly managed to turn her moment of shining glory into a mockery. Making her go fetch the keys… who did that god think she was, Cerberus! The witch sniffed in disapproval as the fiery god disappeared inside her grotto to go and collect his precious wife. Hecate scanned the darkness with just her blue-flamed torch to light up the rocky ground she beamed as a silvery glint of metal revealed the keys to the Underworld. As the witch bent down and scooped up the keys there were two yelps of pain and the next second both Havoc and his twin brother Mayhem were blasted out of the grotto's circular windows in a blaze of smoke and singed fur.

'Come on boys..' Hecate sounded as she straightened with the Underworld keys in her slim pale fingers. '-we've got a new Underworld order to initiate..' Both wolves glanced at each other before getting up, shaking off the dirt before following their mistress without a backwards glance towards Hecate's gloomy grotto.

* * *

The fiery god breathed in the smell of singed wolf-fur deeply with a satisfied smirk, nothing said 'get-outta-my-face' better than lot's of flames and couple burnt hinds.

'Hades..' Persephone breathed out in relief as the spidery gag and bindings melted away under her husband's touch. The second she was free the pregnant goddess leapt up into him wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

'I'm so glad you came..' She sighed comforted by her husband's presence and planting a kiss onto his lips causing the fiery god to smirk amused by her.

'What? Seriously?' He raised a brow to her. 'Ya think I'd really leave _my_ wife and unborn kid to rot in this-' Hades' eyes roamed briefly around the hovel Hecate called home. '-_filth_-fest? Pfft… as if!'

'But what about the Underworld sweetie?' Persephone's eyes widened in shock.

'What about it?' Hades sounded carelessly as though it was of little importance.

'It was your domain, your kingdom..' She sounded in a sorrow-filled voice. '-you just gave it away..'

'So what?' Hades shrugged with disregard. '-it's just a hunka land babe..'

'Hades it's our _home_..' Persephone spoke out in alarm at the casualness of his tone. '-surely your not just going to let her keep it!'

'Seph, Seph, Seph..' The fiery god sounded gently taking both her hands in his. '-ya gotta trust me on this one, ok? I know what I'm doing.' He flashed her a wining smirk.

'Oh..' Persephone sounded with worry at what the witch could do with the Underworld at her disposal. '-I _do_ trust you sweetie, it's just… I hate to think what she's doing in our home..' The young goddess sighed, closing her eyes and turning away from her husband before wiping a tear away from her eye.

'Sephy..' Hades sounded in a low voice, leaning into the side of her head as his arms curled around her massive abdomen. '-ya gotta take it easy..' Persephone pouted with a small sigh of exasperation as she folded her arms tightly across her swollen bosom. The fiery god rubbed her huge baby bump affectionately but quickly realised that the baby inside must be asleep when the fuzzy warmth that usually pricked his fingers didn't come. Leaning into his wife and pulling back a long curl of golden hair that framed her face Hades spoke softly into her ear.

'You let me worry about the witch.. just concentrate on the kid, ok?' A small smile curved Persephone's lips as she lent against her husband's broad shoulder.

'I'll try..' She sounded gently and Hades kissed her head, the goddess then paused as a thought suddenly crossed her mind. 'So.. what are we going to do now?' She suddenly voiced her opinion which made Hades' smile widen considerably, as usual he had already figured this out.

'We're gonna go to the only place left to go..' Before Persephone could ask her husband where this place was, the fiery god wrapped his arms securely around his wife's bump and the two of them vanished in a large swirl of smoke.

* * *

Hecate cackled loudly as she entered the throne room of the Underworld and perched herself on Hades' vacant heavy-set throne. She couldn't believe how easy it had been to get the keys off of that fiery _ex_-Lord of the Underworld.

'See what I mean boys..' The witch sighed happily, lazing back in the huge throne. '-love is such an ill-fitting quality for a ruler of the Underworld… it makes you weak.. pathetic..'

'-and susceptible to sharp-minded individuals such as yourself my Queen..' One of the wolf brother's finished her sentence for her making the witch's eyes narrow in pleasure at his words. Hecate, Queen of the Underworld… it had a nice ring to it.

'Exactly Havoc..' The witch beamed flashing her pearly sharp-pointed teeth. '-and now we begin a New Underworld Order.'

'Might I make one suggestion your royal excellency.' Mayhem raised one paw with a claw out, his jagged leer slightly nervous as he addressed the witch. Hecate blinked at him stunned but deciding to hear him out she smiled widely at him.

'Go on..' She purred in a intrigued tone.

'Perhaps it would be wise to close the 'window of opportunity' just incase Hades decides that he wants the Underworld back..' The wolf sounded causing his brother to prick up his ears and nod at this suggestion.

'Ah yes..' Hecate mused rubbing her sharp chin thoughtfully. '-the 'window of opportunity'… I'd almost forgotten about that..' The witch rose from the wide stone throne passing the wolves who's leers widened crookedly.

'It would make sense to make my rule official before I start laying down some new ground rules wouldn't it?' The witch then furrowed her brow trying to think about where in the House of Hades that insufferable god could have put the one object she would need to make her the _legitimate_ Queen of the Underworld…

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey Peeps, this chapter is a little short but it makes up for it in content. The title is a little play on 'Clash of the Titans', didn't like the remake so much… (it just felt like there was something missing from it.) besides so many films play Hades as the villain and I'm starting to find it a little boring…at least Disney (and James Woods) managed to inject a little humour into the guy!'_

_I must admit that the thing I admire most about the fiery god is that no matter what situation he's thrown into he always manages to retain his sense of humour… after all, sometimes humour is all you have ;D X_

_Where is the safest place for Hades and Persephone now? And what exactly is this 'window of opportunity'?_

_Stay tuned… and please review!_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	25. The 'Window of Opportunity'

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

* * *

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Twenty-Five:****The 'Window of Opportunity'**

'_Mom! Dad!_' Hades bellowed desperately as he burst through the front door of his childhood home without even knocking, heavy pregnant Persephone followed a little more gingerly. 'S_erious IX I I!_' Hades waited for a brief moment as his yells echoed through the eerie house.

'Don't have a kanipshin bubeleh..' Nyx' voice sounded soothingly as the pale bluish-lilac goddess appeared in the hallway and pinched her son's cheek. The Goddess of Night paused and felt her son's face. 'Your thin, you've not been eating enough-'

'_Mo-om_..' Hades whinged trying to free himself from his mother's embrace and failing.

'Dag-nabbit woman quit mollycoddlin' the boy!' Erebus' deep voice sounded as the god appeared out of the shadowy recess of their hallway. 'Kid's gotta be at least thirty-thousand years old..'

'Hey!' Hades lanced a glare at his father. 'I ain't _that_ old yet..' Persephone silently smirked into her hand at her husband's put out look, only Hades' parents could make him act like a little kid again.

'Not far off it..' Erebus sounded still smirking at his son.

'_Yehhh_..' Hades drawled under his breath so his father wouldn't hear. '-maybe in a few millennia..' Nyx meanwhile, frowned at her husband with her slim hands on her hips.

'I don't care how old he is!' The Goddess of Night sounded in a haughty tone. 'He's still my little hamantaschen..'

'Oh geez..' Hades groaned feeling himself go pink in the cheeks as his wife giggled in amusement.

'What about you Persephone?' Nyx instantly turned to her and examining her daughter-in-law's face. 'You look a little peaky..'

'Well..' The pregnant goddess sounded feeling her stomach rumble. '-I am a little hungry..' She finally confessed bringing a smile of satisfaction and triumph to the Goddess of Night.

'See..' Nyx whipped around lancing her husband with a firm gaze. '-I won't have anybody go hungry under _my_ roof..' She then gave a haughty sniff and escorted Persephone into the kitchen. Erebus rolled his round grey orbs with a look of contempt..

'Last time I checked it was me who built this house..' Hades bit his lip and tried not to look too amused by his father's irritation but his slight snort and guilty leer made the God of Shadows eye him suspiciously.

'Well go on..' He sounded sternly pointing in the direction of the kitchen. '-if I were you I'd get in there before she gives you a zetz..'

'Oy..' Hades sighing shrugging and adding in a soft voice as he headed for the kitchen. '-vei is mir..'

* * *

In no time at all Nyx had whipped up a spread of Underworldly delicacies that could rival even Hestia's fine dining and there was not an eyeball, dead finger or worm in sight. The Goddess of Night did not approve of that kind of junk food..

'So..' Erebus sounded as everybody began to tuck in. '-what's this big emergency?'

'Oh..' Hades replied airily waving his fork before scooping up another helping of his mother's delicious home-cooking. '-just a little witch infestation, it ain't nothin' I can't handle..' The fiery god then jammed his mouth full as his father chuckled.

'Heh, Hecate making another play for your throne, eh?' He shook his head making his smoky grey hair spread.

'Yeh, well… the Fates love a trier..' The fiery god smirked amused.

'So if you can handle this yourself why did you come to us?' Nyx sounded confused.

'I need ya to watch my little wifeykins-' Hades gestured to Persephone who smiled sweetly as she chewed her meal. '-while I get ma home back.'

'_What?_' Erebus roared in horror. '_She's in your house!_'

'How did this happen bube?' Nyx sounded just as appalled as her husband although she was more stunned than upset.

'Hey it wasn't my fault..' Hades sounded more to his father than anyone else. '-the witch swooped in snatched Sephy and then held her for ransom, whadda ya expect me to do? It was her-' He gestured to his wife. '-or the Underworld ok? I didn't really have much of a choice..' Persephone could see Hades' flames flicker as he was getting slightly worked up so she clutched his hand and squeezed it affectionately.

'You did the right thing sweetie..' She sounded gently causing Nyx to smile widely.

'Of course he did..' She sounded before leaning over and stroking her son's cheek. '-he's such a little punum..'

'Mo-_om_..' Hades sounded tetchily while slapping her hand away. '-seriously, enough with the schmooze already..'

'_Pleease_..' Erebus, who seemed to act oblivious to his son's whining, spoke in an almost pleading tone. '-tell me that the 'window of opportunity' has been taken care of..' He scrutinized his son with a piercing gaze. Persephone blinked mystified at these words clearly missing something important.

'Of course it has..' Hades bristled offended. '-whatcha think I did? Just waltz off after ma wife without considerin' the particulars… c'mon dad, only Zeus is that much of a schnook!'

'What's the 'window of opportunity'?' Persephone sounded as Nyx cleared away the dinner plates. Hades blinked at his wife's words before turning around and grinning at Persephone.

'It's a like a loophole in a contract babe. It's some stupid rule Zeus decreed right after the Titan War-'

'_Hey!_' Erebus interrupted at this point. 'That _stupid_ rule is the only reason you haven't lost your kingdom..'

'Noted dad..' Hades intoned rolling his yellow eyes before returning his large pupils to his enthralled wife. '-anyway Sephy, this 'window of opportunity' acts like a.. like a..' The fiery god twirled his wrist searching for the right word. '-like a safeguard. Y'see, having the keys to the Underworld doesn't make it rightfully yours..'

'It doesn't?' The pregnant Queen of the Underworld blinked amazed.

'Nahh..' Hades shook his head smirking at his wife's naivety. '-only a certain object in my possession can make Hecate the true ruler of the Underworld.' He sounded impressively before adding in a casual tone. 'It's just too bad I hid it in a place she'll never find it! Hah, ain't I a stinker..' His eyes narrowed in delighted malice.

'Ooh, your so clever..' Persephone sounded seductively making her husband's flames ripple at her words, he did like it when she fanned his ego. 'So what is this powerful object you own?' The pregnant goddess sounded sweetly.

'Heh, it's that item I obtained from the Cyclopes during the Titan War..' Hades sounded in a hinted tone but Persephone merely blinked blankly. Hades sighed realising that Godly History probably wasn't his little Sephykins' strong point. 'It's the Helmet of Darkness toots, ya with me now?' He sighed plainly and the goddess made a soft 'oh' noise as she recognised the name of the item.

'Doesn't that just make the wearer invisible?' She sounded suddenly remembering something Trivia had told her about this helmet.

'Pfft… _no_..' Hades snorted with contempt at this statement before shrugging. '-ok, so that's one of the things it does but it can also command the loyalty of every Underworld subordinate on this side of the Styx.. and I don't just mean monsters either, souls, deities, river naiads the whole _freakin'_ _shebang!_'

'Oh my days..' Persephone said horrified gazing terrified at her husband. '-you mean if she ever got hold of it she could..' The pregnant goddess tailed off unable to complete her sentence.

'-unleash Tartarus on the world?' Hades cocked a brow concluding her sentence for her. 'Now ya see why I hid it..' The god smirked a wide-fanged leer at her.

'So as long as Hecate doesn't find the Helmet of Darkness we can still get the Underworld back?' Persephone mused.

'Bingo!' The fiery god sounded brightly at his wife who seemed to be getting with the program now.

'So how do you plan to get our home back?' Persephone said looking curiously at her husband.

'Heh..' Hades' eyes narrowed playfully as he lent into his wife and uttering with a rolling purr, '-can you say secret passageway?' Before remembering something and swivelling back to the God of Shadows.

'Oh, which reminds me dad I'm gonna need ya to give me some cover so I can sneak back into the Grove of Lethe..'

'Just tell me when your ready to go son..' Erebus sounded in a dismissive voice as he looked over his evening scroll.

* * *

'Are you sure you don't need my help sweetie..' Persephone sounded in a worried tone, her pretty green eyes flickering anxiously between his eyes as she clutched the front of his chiton. She couldn't help but be concerned for her husband's safety. He had been planning out his strategy while his parents had gone out setting night and darkness out into the world above. Now that Erebus and Nyx had returned it was time for him to put his plan into action.

'I'll be fine Sephykins..' Hades chuckled amused. '-you just take care of the kid, ok?' He then curled a long blue finger around her chin and added in a soft serious tone. 'Besides, you're the only thing I got left to leave behind..' Persephone's eyes widened at his words.

'But Hades..' She started as Nyx took her by the shoulder and smiled gently at her.

'He's right dear..' The Goddess of Night sounded serenely. '-this witch needs a serious kick up the wahzoo and believe me, no pregnant goddess needs to see that.'

'I guess..' Persephone sighed heavily as she considered Nyx' words. She didn't want to admit it to her mother-in-law but she actually wanted to see Hecate and her mangy mutts suffer. The pregnant goddess turned back to the golden eyes of her husband and clutched his chiton tighter. '-just promise me you'll be careful..'

'Alright, fine, I'll give ya that one… god's honour babe..' The fiery god raised his hand with two fingers in a salute. '-and hey, I'll be back before ya can miss me too much 'kay..' The god pulled his wife into him gently so her massive baby bump was pressed right against him. '-now how 'bout little schmooze since I gotta go.' Persephone tilted her head upwards and kissed her husband hard before reluctantly letting go of his chiton and smoothing out the creases she had made. The pregnant Goddess of Life hung back with Nyx looking on sadly as the two gods disappeared into the shadows of the hallway.

'Come on dear..' Nyx sounded gently, prying Persephone away from the hall and into the living room. '-let's get you settled with a nice cup of hemlock tea..'

* * *

The pregnant young goddess soon found herself back in the living room and settled down in one of the two plush black chairs by a heavy-set black stone fireplace holding a large blue-flamed fire. She lounged back in her seat, presently surprised that they reclined by a pivoting mechanism. Nyx soon returned with a fresh steaming pot of hemlock tea and set it on the coffee table between them, but by that time the unborn baby was awake and back to it's favourite tricks..

'Is everything alright..' Nyx blinked and paused from pouring out the herbal tea as Persephone suddenly winced uncomfortable in her seat and gripped her bump.

'No..' The pregnant goddess grimaced. '-I think the baby is scorching my insides..' As the goddess spoke a very small trickle of black smoke issued from her mouth.

'Oh dear..' The Goddess of Night sounded before thrusting a cup of hemlock tea into her hands. '-here, this ought to douse it's flames..' She sounded knowledgably. Persephone coughed into her hand several times sending black smoke out into the room. She then snatched the teacup from it's saucer and downed the murky green tea in one gulp. For a few moments she sat perfectly still waiting for the tea to reach her stomach before suddenly the searing pain of smouldering organs died.

'Oh my days..' Persephone sounded blinking in amazement as all her agony vanished and the baby merely seemed to be kick lightly at her insides now. '-that's incredible! How'd you know that would work?' The pregnant goddess beamed at Nyx who chuckled warmly.

'The hemlock acts like a sedative, it numbs the baby's senses. Oh don't worry..' Nyx added as Persephone opened her mouth looking alarmed. '-it's perfectly safe in weak doses like this, in fact I used to give it to Rhea when she was pregnant with Hades..' The Goddess of Night smiled widely. '-she, like you used to be in terrible pain.'

'Really?' Persephone sounded, perking up at this information as she poured herself some more tea.

'Oh yes..' Nyx replied airily waving her hand and taking a sip of her own tea. '-she used to tell me it felt like someone was trying to rip her insides out.'

'Oh good..' Persephone sighed pleasantly causing Nyx to raise a brow at the goddess. '-I meant that I'm not the only one who thinks it's like that… not it's good that grandma had to go through it..' She uttered slightly flustered while flushing a light shade of peach. Nyx merely smiled in response.

The was a short awkward pause as Persephone let her eyes wander around the gloomy room. There was very little furniture in the room apart from a long couch which matched the two chairs and a long cabinet filled with knick-knacks, scrolls, knitting needles, wool and an old loom in the corner. The walls however were filled with undersized tapestries of Erebus and Nyx' children and grandchildren. There were a couple of Morpheus and his brother Phantosis.. there was a family portrait of Hypnos with his nocturnal brood.. a much younger Hades, Hypnos and the Fates all posing cheerfully.. a couple of pictures of kid Hades and his parents.. the teenage Fates.. teenage Hypnos, who looked just like Phantosis with Nyx' colouring.. a fair few with Hades and Hypnos looking chummy..

But it was one tapestry in particular that caught Persephone's eye, it was old and a little frayed at the edges. It's subjects were not children of the Underworld couple but of Cronos and Rhea. Zeus was standing tall and proud, his hair wasn't white it was a light shade of orange and there was a glow of youth in his face.. standing next to him was teenage Hera, who was smiling gleefully while clutching her husband's arm.. Po-Po came next, clean shaven and looking in his late teens with a wide smile, his arm was casually resting on Demeter.. her mother's blonde hair had been a lot longer, pleated with wild flowers and she was wearing a low-cut chiton that showed off her figure, it had been a lot slimmer back then.. Hestia was beside her beaming proudly, holding a clutch of herbs and wearing a neat knee-length chiton, she and Zeus were the only two who looked in their twenties.. Lastly was teenage Hades, he was the only one who wasn't smiling. In fact the fiery teen seemed to be lancing Zeus a glower of disgust. Hades was a lot weedier than he was now, barely any muscle at all and his flames seemed thicker, there was only faint shadows around his bright yellow eyes and his face wasn't quite as thin.

'I stitched that just before the war..' Nyx sounded fondly then sighed. '-but I do wish Hades had been smiling..'

'Why wasn't he?' Persephone asked softly.

'Oh, he and Zeus had been arguing. Hades was still adjusting to the fact that he was adopted and Zeus never took anything he said seriously, which was a shame because my little Hadiekins is a brilliant boy with a mind for tactics. I think a lot of the time he felt very left out of Zeus' little gang..'

'Aww..' Persephone cooed sympathetically. '-well our baby won't ever have to worry about that..' She sounded cradling her bump protectively. Nyx chuckled good-naturedly at these words before pouring out a fresh cup of tea.

'You don't have to tell me..' She smiled meaningfully. '-I am the mother of the Fates..'

'So does that mean you know what the baby's gonna be like?' Persephone asked nervously.

'Oh no..' Nyx shook her head. '-unfortunately only my girls could tell you for sure, their visions are a lot more precise than mine.. _but_..' She trilled brightly. '-I do know enough to help you pick out a girl's name, I know you've been having trouble with that..'

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey Peeps, I'm sure the answers to the questions I left at the end of the last chapter were pretty obvious huh? Oh well… I'm actually not sure how many chapters there will be left to write, I actually think it might be a few chapters shorter than P.o.P was. I'm going to try and stretch it until thirty-five but we'll see how it goes.._

_Ok, firstly Hades' Helmet was missing from the whole series of Hercules which I thought was a shame since it is just as important as the trident or the thunderbolts. It was not just able to turn the wearer invisible but it was a symbol of Hades' ownership of the Underworld._

_Secondly, I hope everybody loves Nyx and Erebus as much as I do! I must admit I can't imagine the adoptive parents of Hades any other way… and writing them always cracks me up (Nyx especially as she's always embarrassing Hades!).. As I've admitted before my knowledge on Yiddish words is very limited (I try my best and research the meanings behind words) so any criticism towards that is most helpful.. and if you can think of anything funny you want Nyx to say to Hades I'll try to put it in wherever I can fit it!_

_See ya next time…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy x_


	26. Witch is in Da House!

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Twenty-Six:****Witch is in Da House!**

The Grove of Lethe was eerily silent as the two gods swooped in under the cover of Erebus' darkness. The benefit of being the God of Shadows was that you could creep through any shadow virtually undetected, an advantage that Hades needed just incase Hecate had decided to step up new security around his home.

So far it seemed that the witch had not.

'Are you sure you want to do this by yourself..' Erebus asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Hades who'd been peering through a gap in the shrubbery scowled irritably at his father's words.

'For the billionth time dad, _yes!_' The fiery god's voice hissed in response. 'Yeesh, I think I'm old enough to thwart a hostile takeover don't you?' There was a defiant edge to the younger god's voice as his eyes settled on his desired location. A distant set of shelves containing many dark clay amphora.. They were only used when he needed to collect Lethe water but beyond the shelves was the location of the passageway Hades needed if he was ever going to get inside.

'Alright, alright..' Erebus sounded in a soothing voice and wrapping his shadows around his son's shoulders, he recognised the early signs of Hades' hot-temper. '-no need to start conbustin' on me boy, I was just askin'.. I do worry about you y'know..'

'Well can ya not worry about me so much..' Hades rolled his eyes upwards, checking for any kind of guard up the steep steps of the black cliff to the rear entrance of his home.

Erebus gave a soft throaty chuckle of amusement at his fiery son's statement before sighing.

'Ahh… only when your little one is old enough to plot schemes of it's own will you know the answer to that..' He sounded warmly into his son's ear and Hades snorted at this. Sometimes Erebus could be as vague as the Fates. Mind you, on reflection maybe the God of Shadows was where those twisted sisters got it from?

'Can the cryptic crap..' Hades snorted irritably. '-ya know it drives me mushuga..' Erebus smirked once again causing his son to scowl at him now. It didn't matter how old Hades got the shadowy god still saw the huffy little blue-flamed godling that used to come scampering to him whining about the teenage Fates and one of their little riddles… those girls did love to confuse and annoy him.

'I wasn't being cryptic son..' Erebus replied softly causing the large black pupils of the fiery god to roll once more.

'Well that must be a first..' Hades muttered more to himself than his father before deciding that they'd wasted enough time. 'Alright, I think we've waited long enough. Let's go..' Hades flicked his wrist beckoning Erebus and the shadowy god blanketed his son in darkness once more. The two of them slipped easily passed the back stairwell and in amongst the shelves of amphora vases. Hades moved through the shelves until finding the vase-shelf he was looking for and pulling it out to reveal a long dark, gloomy passageway.

'Is it me, or does this all seem a bit too easy..' Hades sounded with an amused leer at his shadowy father. Erebus shrugged before responding in his usual deep voice.

'Perhaps Hecate has been a little preoccupied by trying to close the 'window of opportunity'..'

'Yeh but not to step up security before she goes searching for the helmet?' The fiery god mused thoughtfully. 'I dunno, it just seems kinda..' He twirled his wrist agitatedly. '-lazy that's all..' The God of Shadows arched an eyebrow at his son which made Hades want to justify his words.

'Not that I'm complainin'..' The fiery god smirked amused. '-hey, it's less hassle for me y'know what I'm sayin'..' Hades gave a dry chuckle of amusement before stepping into the passageway and swivelling around to Erebus.

'Well dad, thanks for your help, probably coulda done it without ya, yadda, yadda, yadda… see ya back home 'kay..' He flashed a wide-fanged grin at his shadowy father before adding as an after thought. 'Oh, he-he if ya could just swing this-' Hades gestured at the amphora shelf that was hanging open. '-shut when I'm gone that would be just peachy ok?' The fiery god then swivelled on his smoking heels and headed up the dark passageway.

'I'll be lurking in the shadows if you need me..' Erebus sounded before concealing the passageway back behind the amphora vases again and melting into the darkness of the Underworld.

In the now pitch darkness of the passageway Hades' blue-tinted face sighed heavily. Why did his father not see that he could do this without his help. He was not going to do that with his own kid once it was born.

'Oy, memo to me, memo to me..' Hades sounded in a soft irritable voice. '-don't smother the brat.'

* * *

'Ooh, where is it?' Hecate snarled irritably raiding the huge trunk in the throne room only to find an assortment of baby and maternity things that were obviously meant to assist Persephone during and after labour. The throne room was now an absolute mess with bits of scroll, chess pieces and now baby things littering the floor. Closets had been raided, shelves ransacked, draws ravaged and the only thing Hecate had managed to find was some stupid black metal two-pronged pitchfork that had been wedged down the side of the heavy stone throne. Probably something Hades used to torture his minions when he couldn't be bothered to summon the flames to do it.

'Rrrr..' Hecate slammed the lid of the empty chest shut. '-where has that lousy son of a Titan hidden the helmet?' She seethed irritably as two large angry patches of violet appeared on her cheeks.

'Helmet?' One of the wolf brothers repeated looking confused. 'Your looking for a helmet?'

'Why?' His brother blinked, his expression just as confused as his twin. '-we thought you liked your horned headdress..'

'_I do!_' Hecate shrieked out furiously. 'But in order to rule the Underworld properly I have to be sat on the throne while _wearing_ the Helmet of Darkness so that every being under the surface knows who their master is! You with me now?' She snapped infuriated by her wolves who were not helping her situation.

'Oh..' The first wolf sounded with an air of understanding. '-so you'd only be wearing it to establish your rule.'

'Well that's different then Hecate..' The second wolf chipped in before returning to looking bemused. '-so, uh… what does it look like?' His brother's long yellow eyes widened in the realisation that this was a valid question.

'It looks like..' Hecate paused thoughtfully. '-well it's similar to..' The witch then sighed when she realised that she too had no idea what the Helmet of Darkness looked like. Come to think of it, Hecate couldn't ever remember Hades wearing it at any point during the Titan War either. That was odd, this helmet was an incredibly powerful object. It's power was easily equal to the trident or the thunderbolt and yet Hades had simply discarded it… like it was a useless hunk of junk.

'Alright..' Hecate pouted, deflating slightly. '-so maybe I don't know what it looks like but we have to find it anyway!'

'Ok, so if you don't know what it looks like..' The first wolf spoke again, still trying to work out the particulars. '-how will you know when we have it.'

'Because _idiot_-' The witch snorted with badly repressed frustration. '-Hades won't have any other helmets! He has flames for hair..' She pointed a finger sharply at her own head extenuating her point. '-flames which will be extinguished if he puts on a helmet. And we all know how vain this god is about his flames!' Both wolves exchanged a questioning look before shrugging.

'Eh..' The second wolf murmured. '-makes sense..'

Suddenly a fourth voice sounded with a hint of mocking pleasure.

'Lost something Hecate?'

* * *

Hades' leer of amusement widened as the three sets of eyes all swivelled around startled to find him leaning against his own throne.

'_Hades_..' Hecate seethed at the sight of the smug-faced fiery god. '-how did you get in here?' Both Havoc and Mayhem growled fiercely at the god.

'Funny thing really..' Hades responded cheerfully while ignoring the snarling wolves completely. '-ya didn't exactly make it much of a challenge Hecate, next time ya might wanna step up security just a smidge..' The fiery god held out his hand with his fingers barely touching each other.

'Personally, I woulda started with this..' Hades peeled back the grey heavy-drape that was behind his throne to reveal the passageway that he had built in himself as an emergency exit. The fiery god let go of the drape and continued airily. '-but hey, it's too bad there won't be a next time, right babe?' Hecate flushed with irritation at the god's words before calming and controlling herself again.

'You haven't won yet you miserable excuse for a god..' The witch snarled angrily pointing her blue-flamed torch at Hades, who ignored the witch's staff but rolled his eyes at her insolence.

'Oy, again with the insults, y'know I actually feel sorry for the souls who get to meet you on a dark night if that's your attitude..' The flame-haired deity shook his head roughly before his yellow eyes caught sight of a long thin, familiar black metal fork on the floor near him. 'Hey, ya found my dikrano..' Hades sounded keenly snapping his fingers causing the two-pronged fork to vanish into a curl smoke and reappear in his clenched fist. '-I've been lookin' for this for months..' The fiery god twirled his dikrano airily. '-where'd ya find it?'

Hecate merely scowled at the god's attempt to change the subject. Once again Hades disregarded the look on her face and carried on.

'Heh, couldn't have built ma home without this baby..' He then tossed the dikrano onto his empty throne before suddenly noticing the state of his throne room.

'_Aye-chi-ba-ba!_' The fiery god's jaw dropped in shock as his wide yellow eyes took in the mess that littered the throne room. Hades was by no means the cleanest god in the cosmos, in fact there had been many moments in the past when this room had looked like this, but being with Persephone had made him appreciate a tidy home… and his wife would go into early labour if she saw their house in this state!

Hades frowned realising quickly that this meant the witch had been searching for his Helmet of Darkness. _Too bad for her she was stone cold. _This thought made the god smirk and flash the witch a tight-lipped leer.

'Hecate, babe.. I hope your plannin' to put all this away before ya leave..' He responded airily although there was a slightly forced edge to his voice.

'Leave?' Hecate sounded in surprise before swiftly recovering and flashing the god her own devious leer. 'Oh I'm not _leaving_..' She sounded in a low sneer tightening her grip on her blue-flamed staff, gearing herself up to fight the god.

'Again with the flamey-torch-thingy?' Hades raised one eyebrow unimpressed, didn't this witch have anything original for him? 'Yeesh, Hecate babe have we not been here, like, a dozen times already? I think this old routine is gettin' boring..' The fiery god found it hard not to muster a fake yawn at the sheer tedium of this whole situation.

'Your right..' Hecate sounded in a smooth voice. '-we have been here before haven't we?' She smiled a sinister smirk which made Hades' upper lip curl in disgust. 'But _this_ time I have something that you don't..' She tailed off teasingly as her two wolves leered with wide grins then moved away from their mistress.. The Lord of the Underworld assumed the wolves, that were no threat to him, were just getting out of the witch's way.

'Uh-huh yeh, sure ya do babe..' Hades sounded confidently while casually checking his nails. '-and what would that be? No common sense?' The god smirked amused.

Hecate pursed her lips angrily at the fiery god's goading.

'No..' Her voice sounded completely deadpan as her expression switched to indifferent.

'Hey Hades..' One of the wolves sounded causing the fiery god to swivel around infuriated. While their mistress had been distracting Hades they had slipped off to retrieve a special item that they had found while rooting around earlier. 'Catch!' The wolf sounded as his brother, who had something big and green in his teeth, threw the strange object towards the fiery god. In response to her minion's voice Hecate twirled her staff in a circular movement summoning a transparent blue bubble that surrounded her like a shield as the object hurtled towards Hades.

Acting instinctively the fiery god caught the item and for a brief second looked confused, at least he did until the green object glowed ominously in his grip.

'Uh-oh..' Hades uttered, recognising the object immediately as the Cronos Stone. The fiery god cursed inwardly, those two idiotic imps had told him they had gotten rid of this cursed object years ago. Instantly Hades began to feel the effects of it's enchantment and before the fiery god could even think of getting rid off it he'd dropped to his knees suddenly exhausted..

'Y'know..' The god yawned sleepily. '-I will getcha for this..' Then he slumped forward as the sleeping curse of the Cronos Stone took full effect.

'Uh..' Hecate mock-sighed from inside the safety of her bubble shield. '-that's what I love about you Hades..' She smirked amused before waved her staff, binding up Hades in extra-strong spidery-web bounds. '-you just don't know when your beat..'

For a moment she merely admired the sight of the now flameless god sleeping soundly on the floor, clutching the Cronos Stone and sucking his thumb like some over-grown baby before she frowned and swivelled around to her two minions.

'Will one you get rid of that stupid stone so I can get out of this bubble!'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Peeps.. I know, I know, this is a cliff-hanger chap, haven't had a good cliff-hanger since P.o.P and I thought that this was the perfect place to stop... I'm so cruel mwha-ha-ha-ha! XP_

_I just thought I'd have a little fun with the chapter title as it works on two levels… and because I thought it would be ironic to have this kind of announcement in the title._

_Hades' two-pronged fork in myth was like another symbol of his power… it's use seems to be merely to blast things that irritate the god (Cyane being the most obvious example here). Since Hades can do this so well already I feel the fork would only act as an object he could channel his power through.. and it makes a handy imp-torture device too! Although this two-pronged fork doesn't have an official name in myth I'm using the Greek word 'dikrano' which quite literally means 'pitchfork'._

_The Cronos Stone (as Pain and Panic explain in their cute little song 'Cronos Stone' in 'Hercules and the Drama Festival') is the rock that Rhea used to trick Cronos into swallowing it instead of one of her boys. In my storyline the stone doesn't stay down and when the Titan brings it back up he places the curse on it to weaken the gods… (in the series Pain and Panic don't explain the back story to well, just that it was a stone Cronos coughed up and gave a curse)… it's after this that Rhea hides her youngest two boys with their adoptive families. I'm really starting to think I should write that fic.._

_Uh-oh… Hades is in some serious trouble now peeps! How's he gonna get out of it?_

_Stay tuned… and don't forget to review!_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	27. Hubble, Bubble, Gods in Trouble

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

* * *

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Twenty-Seven:Hubble, Bubble... Gods in Trouble****..**

Persephone suddenly winced painfully and gripped her skull before trying to rub it better as a white-hot migraine instantly came on with no warning.

'Ahh-_oww_..' She sounded through tightly gritted teeth squeezing her eyes shut in a vain attempt to block out the pain… not that it was working. 'Oh, why did my babycakes have to inherit it's daddy's flames..' The young Queen of the Underworld wailed as Nyx slapped an ice-cold wet cloth onto her daughter-in-law's forehead. Persephone sighed gratefully, instantly clutched the soothing rag to her head.

'Now honey..' The Goddess of Night smiled tenderly at the pregnant goddess. '-you know as well as I do that there was a fifty fifty chance of that happening..' The bluish-lilac-skinned goddess spoke soothingly before noticing that the wet rag in her daughter-in-law's hand was steaming and hissing, her silver eyes widened in shock as she gasped, '-oh my!'

The baby name scroll the two goddess' had been pondering over rolled out of Persephone's lap as the pregnant goddess squealed in agony, clenching her teeth shut so it didn't turn into a scream. If her migraine hadn't been bad enough the baby also seemed to be kicking furiously against it's mother's tummy.

'Oh Nyx..' Persephone wailed out, if her body temperature wasn't so high she'd have been crying. '-it's not stopping! I think it's getting _worse_..'

'Persephone..' Nyx sounded worried taking the now hot cloth off of her daughter-in-law, re-soaking it in the icy cold water before turning back to the young goddess and slapping the cloth back on her forehead, instantly it began hissing furiously sending steam across the room. '-you must try to stay calm..' The Goddess of Night's soothing voice was just audible over the hiss of water. '-try focusing on your baby's powers, see if you can channel them..'

'Rrrr..' Persephone grimaced tossing the now roasting hot cloth to the floor. '-how am I supposed to focus on the baby when all I can feel is _agony!_' The pregnant goddess screeched painfully her teeth still gritted, barely restraining the shriek that was wrestling to break out of her.

'Focus on your baby, trust me it'll help..' Nyx repeated serenely ignoring the distressed whine that her daughter-in-law was making. '-tune out the pain, it's just a distraction..'

'That's easy for you to say… you don't have to _feel it!_' Persephone snapped tetchily.

'Do you _want_ the pain to go away or not..' Nyx sounded sharply folding her arms across her chest, her patience slipping a little. Persephone's eyes suddenly opened and she gazed in a mixture of surprise and torture at her mother-in-law's firm silver eyes.

Nyx sighed heavily, looking only slightly apologetic.

'Persephone..' The Goddess of Night sounded slowly. '-your baby is obviously upset about something and the _only _way to stop the pain now is to channel it's powers and gain control of them, ok?' For a moment Persephone's eyes clouded in pain before the goddess slowly nodded in vague acknowledgement of what was said.

'Alright..' The Queen of the Underworld sighed in a pained whisper. '-I'll try..' She then closed her eyes, a frown of pain twisting on her face as she tried to concentrate on her baby rather than the searing hot agony that was engulfing her insides. Nyx took both of Persephone's dainty white fingers in her own slim bluish-lilac ones, rubbing the backs of her hands gently as she watched over her daughter-in-law.

Concentrating as hard as she could on her upset baby, Persephone slowly began to tune out the pain of her smouldering organs until they felt like nothing more than a dull throb in the background of her mind. It was then she began to feel the baby's powers seep into her own consciousness, but they felt so different from her own powers. Hers were always so warm and lively but the baby's powers felt the opposite… they were detached and numb, like they were completely lifeless. It was hard to believe that a being growing inside of her could possibly feel this way..

'Oy gevalt!' Nyx cried out on surprise, her silver eyes widening in shock as Persephone's dim white aura vanished completely. She instantly let go of the seemingly lifeless young goddess and stared anxiously at her, unsure of what to do now..

'Persephone..?' The Goddess of Night sounded gently prodding the pregnant goddess lightly. The next second Nyx gasped as a new aura began to emit from the goddess' skin.. this time it was black, like darkness itself and giving off a strange ominous feeling.

'_Erebus_..' Nyx called out unsurely to her husband, worried for their daughter-in-law. '-I think you better get in here!' After a few moments of silence the Goddess of Night felt instantly reassured when her shadowy partner's deep tones filled the room.

'What… what is it?' The God of Shadows sounded in a slightly impatient tone as he materialised from the shadows of the room, the black ethereal deity was still waiting for word from his fiery son. 'Oh..' Erebus' voice filled with understanding as he took in Persephone's newly acquired dark aura. '-that doesn't look good..' He mused swooping over the pregnant goddess to examine her.

'I was just trying to get her to channel the baby..' Nyx sounded softly as her husband studied the new aura. Before the God of Shadows could respond Persephone's eyes flew open, they didn't appear to be any different but they were lacking in her usual sparkle of life. The pregnant goddess straightened instantly looking troubled and uttered only one thing.

'Hades..' Then she immediately vanished out in a tower of golden flames, stunning both Nyx and Erebus. For a moment both deities could only stare stunned at this power.

'Do you think that baby is omniscient?' Nyx sounded vaguely causing her husband's round grey orbs to swivel to her. For a moment the shadowy god merely remained stunned before frowning at his wife.

'How in the name of Chaos should I know woman..' Erebus rolled his eyes with the same frustrated look Hades used with the Fates. '-you're the one who get's the visions, _you tell me!_'

* * *

'Wakey, wakey..' A cold female voice punctured through Hades' unconsciousness, slowly dragging the fiery god out of the blackness.

'_Yeaowch!_' Hades cried out as something sharp poked him brutally in the rear. This caused Hades' wide yellow eyes to immediately open and the fiery god blinked disorientated, he seemed to be in a high-roofed black cavern instead of the throne room.

'Time to rise and shine sleepy head..' The cold female voice sing-songed with a hint of malicious intent causing a groggy Hades to shake his head roughly and swivel around to the owner of the voice. He glared at the sight of Hecate who was holding his dikrano, the two prongs were still directed towards him and a malicious leer was twisted on the witch's face.

'_Hey!_' The god's fiery hair quickly smouldered a nasty shade of orange. 'That's _my _implement of torture and I-' Hades suddenly broke off from his ranting when he spotted the black metal bars separating himself from Hecate. Blinking stunned the flaming god's hair receded to it's usual blue as he quickly realised he seemed to be imprisoned in some kind of barred enclosure.

Hecate's malicious smirk widened as the god took in his prison.

'What..' Hades sighed as his eyes narrowed in smouldering fury. '-the Tartarus.. is this supposed to be?'

'Why Hades..' Hecate sounded in a sweetly innocent voice though her eyes remained cold and spiteful. '-this would be your prison for the rest of eternity..' The witch's smile instantly widened nastily.

'Oh _goody_..' Hades sounded sarcastically as his face merely looked deadpan, inside his flaming cranium the fiery god was already planning out what he would do once he got out of this witch's stupid magical prison. After all.. he was a god, no mediocre witchy-voodoo could keep him banged up for long..

'Hmm… don't get too excited Hades..' Hecate sounded smirking in amusement.

'I'll try not to..' The fiery god replied in a monotonous voice but Hecate carried on as though she hadn't heard.

'-you haven't seen the best part yet..' She could barely keep the note of wicked glee out of her voice as she casually gestured for the fiery god to turn around.

'The best part..' Hades repeated in a low mutter to himself. '-hah, this ou-' The fiery god tailed off as his wide yellow eyes widened in horror as he swivelled around to find himself on the edge of a great cliff… and at the bottom of it was the swirling vivid green waters of the Vortex of Fire.

'_Oy_ _gevalt_!' Hades cried out, completely unaware that on the over side of the Acheron his mother had just uttered the same thing. At first sight of the souls that were swirling around the fiery waters a whole flood of memories washed back to Hades..

'_Get off me… don't touch me… get your slimy souls off me..' Then the numerous souls had grabbed him, dousing his flames as his head briefly dunked underwater. He resurfaced spitting out the vile water._

'_I need to get outta here..' He'd sounded worried as the souls came for him again. 'Taxi! Taxi!' He found himself backed against the black-stone as ridge souls were closing in._

'_Oh I don't feel so good..' He sounded as several souls wound their slimy fingers around him-_

Hades gave an involuntary shiver, his skin crawled with the memory of their slippery touch.

_-dragging him down, down, down as the fiery god cried out,_

'_-I'm feeling a little flushed!'_

Hecate's eyes glinted evilly as she watched Hades' face twist in dread with vindictive pleasure, drinking in his fear as if it were the sweetest nectar. The blue-flamed deity was hyperventilating as he was subconsciously pressing himself back against the black bars of his cage and practically quivering like one of his own brain-dead minions.

'Y'know Hades..' The witch sounded, leaning on his dikrano lazily. '-fear is such a _fascinating_ thing, did you know that it paralyzes a god sapping away their powers?' She smirked checking her dark navy nails before smirking and adding, '-maybe instead of trying to find Hercules' weakness you should have been trying to find out his deepest fear.'

'Huh?' Hades glanced at Hecate who's brows contracted knowingly.

'Yes… I know all about that..' The witch sounded in an almost musing voice. '-very clever Hades, using the waters of Cocytus to mortalize the son of Zeus so you would have a better chance at defeating him with the Titans..' Hecate then paused before adding, '-well I assume that's why you wanted Hercules out the way.' She raised one eyebrow curiously at the god.

Hades briefly frowned, momentarily distracted from his focus on staying as far away as possible from the swirling green vortex that had been haunting his dreams.

'So whatta ya gonna do?' The fiery god actually managed roll his eyes, inwardly sighing.. _Great.. just great.. _apparently this nosey busy-body had known about his big secret all along..

Hecate smirked once again, as though knowing what the god was thinking..

'Oh rest assured Hades, had I wanted to tell Zeus I would have done so already..' Hecate suddenly sniffed in a haughty fashion. '-but your petty rivalry with his son doesn't interest me. I only want your throne..' Hades' yellow eyes briefly swivelled back to the witch.

'Pfft… I gave ya the keys Hecate, what more do ya want?' Hades sounded in disbelief before his wide yellow eyes returned to the malevolent green waters of the vortex… as long as the cage didn't move he was perfectly safe.

'Like you don't know..' The witch snarled, fuming with annoyance. '-I want to close the 'window'! _Now where is it?_' Hecate's legendry impatience was threatening to break free of it's restrains.

'There's two windows in the throne room, knock yourself out babe..' Hades smirked amused, amazed that even when facing his biggest fear he could still think up a witty comeback.

'_Rrrrrr_..' Hecate's face suddenly turned a nasty shade of purple at the fiery god's comment. '-that's not what _I meant!_' Hecate's fingers tightened around the dikrano as her silvery eyes narrowed into slits. 'Where is the Helmet of Darkness?' Her voice hissed with loathing.

'The what now?' Hades asked innocently trying not to laugh as the witch's eyes bulged in disbelief before her face returned to furious.

'Don't play dumb with me Hades..' Hecate snarled wrathfully. '-where is the helmet the Cyclopes gave you?'

'Ohh.. _that_ helmet..' The fiery god sounded with mock-realisation before placing a finger on his chin. '-heh, can't remember where I put it..' He flashed the witch a wide-fanged smirk while shrugging exaggeratedly.

'Well you _better_ remember!' Hecate snarled lifting the dikrano and pointing it at Hades again.

'Or what?' The fiery god sounded, his brows contracting in an amused-prod. 'Ya gonna give the ol' noggin a jab?' Hecate smirked sinfully before lowering the prongs of the dikrano to the ground and wedging it into the bottom bars of the cube-shaped prison.

Hades' rounded golden eyes widened as Hecate pushed down on the two-pronged fork. This caused the fiery god to cry out in alarm as the cage gave a nasty jolt, leaning slightly over the cliff-edge and over the Vortex of Fire. The movement caused several loose bits of black rock to fall down and disintegrate with a faint hiss as they came in contact with the fiery waters below.

The witch then pulled the dikrano out of the cage causing in to drop once more with a deep slam that echoed around the huge cavernous room.

'Now..' Hecate spoke again slowly, her smirk widening to reveal more of her jagged-teeth. Her face was now partially lit by the green glow of the Vortex of Fire. '-let's try this _again_..'

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey Peeps, the title of this chapter is a little stab towards the Shakespear's line from McBeth about the witches… and because once again it works on an ironic level… LoL, I do seem to be in an sardonic mood don't I? XP_

_Ok, minor movie quoting in this chapter along with some minor invention to fill in the blanks, I'm trying to keep the quotes to a minimum but there are times when it is vital for a storyline.._

_Ooohh, I have left it on a bit of a cliff-hanger again, not deliberate I promise but necessary as I can't write anymore without giving away the next chap.._

_Hades is in a serious jam… what's going to happen next? OMDZ, I sound like a weekly T.V. show.. XD_

_R&R please! Every review gets me closer to my goal… if I beat it I will close my 'favourite minion' poll and post the results along with a sneaky peak at the next story (regrettably.. I can't tell you the title yet as it contains a MAJOR spoiler).._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	28. The Arrival of the 'Iron Queen'

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

* * *

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Twenty-Eight:****The Arrival of the 'Iron Queen'**

'_Where _is the Helmet of Darkness..' Hecate practically spat, she was seething with so much rage she could hardly see straight. Hades was by far the most annoying god she had ever come across in her entire existence, the witch just wanted to bash her head against the biggest, sharpest stalactite she could find… how in the cosmos could Persephone _stand_ being married to this imbecile? The two of them had been stood on the edge of the swirling green vortex for what felt like _eternity_ and the fiery god had not uttered even a hint at the location the helmet.

Hades glared at the witch unpleasantly but remained tight-lipped. He would not tell her the location of his Helmet of Darkness, she could do to him what she wanted but without the helmet there was nothing Hecate could do to harm Persephone or his unborn child… and they meant more to him than his own personal safety right now.

'Fine..' Hecate's nostrils flared furiously, she too sensed that the god would not divulge the location of his precious helmet. '-if you won't talk..' She then hooked the two-prongs of the dikrano into the bottom of the cage and lifted it up causing it to teeter on the edge of the massive drop down to the Vortex of Fire.

Hades squeezed both his eyes tight shut and curled his fingers around the bars of the cage, bracing himself for the inevitable plunge into the fiery green waters below. It dawned on him in that moment that he may never see his wife again, or witness the birth of his unborn baby… what if he won the gender-bet? What would Persephone name their kid then? The thought of never being able to see his child was almost crippling..

A well of mixed emotions threatened to burst forth along with the sudden mad desire to just blurt out the helmet's location… but he suppressed it. He would not submit to Hecate nor would he let his Underworld fall into her conniving bony fingers. This was not just his kingdom anymore…

Hecate adjusted the grip on the dikrano, preparing to give it one heaving tug that would send Hades into the swirling Vortex of Fire and damn him for all eternity.

Then just before she could follow through a voice sounded from directly behind her.

'_Hecate_..'

* * *

The female voice caused the witch's eyes to widen in both shock and a little fear. Hades' prison slammed back down to the ground with a heavy clang but the Goddess of Witchcraft took no notice. Hecate knew that the owner of the voice was Persephone, she could recognise that voice anywhere but there was something odd about it… the young goddess sounded empty. Her voice was cold and unyielding, like it was completely devoid of all life.

'Seph..' Hades sounded with relief the moment his prison crashed to the ground. The fiery god had never been so pleased to here his wife's voice before and his heart seemed to swell at the realisation that she had come to save him. However when the fiery god turned around to see his wife his smile vanished instantly as he took in her appearance.

Persephone looked frightening. Her hair was whipping around as though moving in some unfelt breeze, her usually youthful and vibrant green eyes were cold and lifeless, gazing fixed onto the witch. However the most shocking thing about her was the instant sense of dread and foreboding that emulated from the pulsing black aura that engulfed her body, it seemed to just suck out any sparkle from the pregnant goddess, leaving behind an empty shell. The sight of this awesome and terrifying goddess made Hades' mushy heart congeal. What in Tartarus had happened to his wife?

Hecate too had turned around and was now gazing in both disbelief and unease at the intimidating Queen of the Underworld but the witch shook herself to get rid of such thoughts… after all, this was just a goddess, a heavily pregnant goddess at that… what could she do to challenge her?

'Heh, Persephone…' Hecate drawled in a soft laugh, trying to cover her fleeting discomfort. '-how nice of you to drop in, your just in time to say goodbye to your husband..'

Persephone merely cocked her head gazing with childish curiosity at the witch, almost as if she were questioning the witch. Then in an instant the innocent look was gone, leaving her face blank as she straightened her head and spoke.

'Drop the fork _witch_..' The pregnant goddess commanded in a detached tone, a sinister smile tweaking the edges of her lips.

'Or what?' Hecate challenged the Queen of the Underworld gripping the dikrano even tighter. Persephone smiled a little wider. The pregnant goddess then turned around to Hecate's wolves who were laying low on the ground and slowly creeping backwards while growling low in their throats… they could sense danger in this goddess.

Persephone seemed to take brief pleasure in their cautious looks.

'Your wolves don't trust me..' Her voice sounded with only the barest hint of amusement in it before the goddess extended her arms and her fingers curled around as though she were holding something invisible in each hand. 'They're right not to..' She concluded softly as both wolves made a choking noise as though being throttled by air. Then both Havoc and Mayhem found themselves being dragged forward towards Persephone.. Fear and panic spread over their muzzles as they choked and wrestled with the invisible force that was dragging them towards what felt like impending doom. Unfortunately this didn't seem to work as the force merely continued onwards.

Hades who hadn't uttered a peep as he was so transfixed by this transformation in Persephone, could only watch as the wolves found themselves in the tight grip of his fearsome wife. His brain whirred as the fiery god tried to understand what it was he was witnessing. Then in an instant his yellow eyes widened as he realised that these weren't his wife's powers, these must be his baby's powers… his wife must be channelling the baby!

With her slim white fingers securely around a wolf throat each the pregnant goddess turned slowly back around to Hecate. The witch's grip on the dikrano faltered as she took in the sight of Persephone scowling at her with one minion in each hand.

'Last chance _witch… _drop the fork..' Persephone sounded an edge of menace in her voice now.

'You wouldn't..' Hecate sounded pointing the prongs of the dikrano straight at Persephone.

Then there it was, a ghost of an angelic smile twisted itself onto the pregnant goddess' lips.

'Just watch me..' The Queen of the Underworld sounded in a soft taunting tone.

Instantly her grip on the two wolves necks tightened and the goddess glared down at them, concentrating with all her might on the two minions in her grip. The pulsing black aura that had been surrounding Persephone extended around both Havoc and Mayhem causing both of them to widen their eyes and give a brief whine of discomfort.

Then slowly, the wolves began to age… growing older and older the longer they were exposed to this sinister black aura. The edges of their muzzles began to grow silvery hairs… more and more began to appear, spreading to their brows and down their fur. Their eyes became dull, wrinkles settling on their long broad noses..

Both Hecate and Hades watched in appalled shock as the witch's minions continued to age rapidly before their eyes… neither subterranean being had seen any deity perform a feat like this in all their centuries of existing.

Then when both wolves finally closed their eyes and slumped lifeless against the hands of Persephone did the goddess' hands seem to glow… and instantly both wolves were engulfed in flames and incinerated into two large piles of black ash at Persephone's feet.

'_My_ _minions_..' Hecate cried out in outrage, hardly daring to believe what she had just witnessed. Both her loyal minions and pets had been killed by this seemingly powerless goddess. '-why you nasty little..' Hecate began, intending to use the dikrano to exact revenge on this insolent goddess by stabbing her in the abdomen. However Persephone merely raised a hand and clicked her fingers causing the dikrano to dematerialise out of Hecate's grip in a swirl of smoky shadow.

The witch blinked confused at her now empty hand before turning to Persephone just in time to witness the dikrano appear in the goddess' right hand.

'Uh, heh…' Hecate sounded rather uneasily as Persephone studied the two-pronged fork that was now in her possession. '-now let's not be too hasty, I know we've had our differences in the past but-' The witch gulped as the sharp edge of the dikrano was suddenly pointing at her and Hecate edged a little away from Persephone. '-you wouldn't really harm a friend of your own mother's now would you?' She asked in a slightly nervous tone, blindly hoping that this minuet link to Demeter might just be enough to spare her some unbearable agony.

For a brief moment Persephone continued to glare at the Goddess of Witchcraft before the dikrano in her dainty white hands lowered slightly.

'No..' Persephone sounded in a soft voice and Hecate felt a huge wave of relief wash over her. Then a small smirk crossed the goddess' face that the witch didn't like. '-I wouldn't want to take that pleasure away from my husband..'

Hecate blinked stunned before her eyes swivelled nervously around to Hades who was lent against the bars of his cage casually. Since the witch was disarmed the god was not the least bit worried about being tipped into the Vortex of Fire now.. and although he could probably break out of the cage with no problem Hades was quite interested to see what his wife was going to do with to the witch. When Hecate's silvery eyes turned to him the flame-haired god flashed the witch a twisted smirk while his eyebrows contracted in malicious amusement.

Persephone's grip tightened on the dikrano again and before she had even thought about what she was going to do with it the pregnant goddess threw it. The two-pronged fork sailed through the air and caught the witch, pining Hecate to the black stone wall behind her by the neck. The witch tried to pull the dikrano out but unfortunately for her the two prongs were deeply embedded into the cliff behind her throat.

With Hecate secured Persephone instantly let go of her connection to her baby's powers and with a slight gasp of relief the goddess dropped to her knees as warmth and life returned to her body. The ominous black aura retreated and her dimly glowing white aura returned. Her skin and hair seemed to lighten and the life shone in her wide green eyes.

* * *

At the sight of Persephone dropping to the stone floor Hades summoned a fireball, blasting apart the black metal cage that had held him prisoner. The flimsy structure easily fell apart under his touch and most of it swung over the edge into the fiery green waters with an angry hiss. The blue-flamed god couldn't help but feel gratified by the knowledge that he hadn't been trapped in it when it had gone over the edge. Instantly Hades moved towards his wife, checking to make sure she was alright.. Once the fiery god was satisfied that his wife was fine, perhaps just a little exhausted but fine, his attention quickly returned to Hecate who was still trying, and failing, to remove the dikrano that was pining her to the wall.

Hecate quickly ceased trying to free herself with the now orange-flamed god looming before her with a diabolical leer on his face. The witch opened her mouth to try and say something but her voice wouldn't sound… Hades' mere presence was enough to stun her into silence.

'Hecate _babe_..' The fiery god's eyes narrowed into slits of loathing as his skin tone matched his hair. '-over my rein as Lord of the Underworld it would be fair to say that I have let a lotta things slide, _right?_' Hades' flames rose briefly as his voice practically bellowed the last word.

Hecate winced at the god's words before finally finding her voice.

'Yes..' She could only utter before Hades started up again.

'And you've tried to overthrow me..' He paused trying to remember the exact number. '-_how_ many times now?' He raised an eyebrow towards the witch who shook, reminding him of one of his own dense-duo.

'A few…' Hecate smiled a simpering little grin at the god who merely raised a brow at this answer.

'Oh come on Hecate..' The god drawled with faint amusement.'-don't be so modest..'

'Ok..' Hecate sounded with a heavy sigh.'-a few _dozen_ times..'

'That's a bit more accurate..' Hades' leer widened horribly at this. '-now usually ya just suffer a blast of flames and a burnt chiton for your efforts but _unfortunately_..' The god mock sighed before continuing. '-that just ain't gonna fly this time.'

'It's not?' Hecate practically squeaked in a terrified voice, wondering just what Hades was planning to do to her.

'I'm afraid not babe..' The Lord of the Underworld was amazed at how expertly he could keep his voice level when his insides were furiously boiling with what she had done. '-ya see, you didn't just try to overthrow me this time. You put both my wife and unborn kid in danger too. So I'm afraid _now_ I'm gonna have to haul ya down to Tartarus..'

'_What..?_' Hecate actually looked panicked now. 'You can't do that to me, I'm an Olympian deity… I have duties to attend to..'

'Ah, save it for the judge Cronos..' Hades waved a hand dismissively before blinking and smirking deviously at the witch. 'Oh wait, that would be _me_..' He laughed softly as he hauled the dikrano out of the wall causing Hecate to drop to the stone floor at his feet. Instantly a set of skull-shaped handcuffs snapped around the witch's wrists and a long smoky chain linked them together with a connecting line that wrapped around Hades' wrist to make sure she couldn't escape.

'Hades..' Persephone sounded in a soft voice and Hades turned to her instantly returning blue and smiling at her. For a brief moment Hecate wondered if Persephone was not going to let her go through with whatever torture Hades had in mind, but this hope was soon dashed by the little smirk on the pregnant goddess' lips. '-make her suffer sweetie..' Persephone uttered as though they were discussing a domestic matter.

'Oh don't worry baby, this witch ain't gettin' off that easy lemmie tell ya..' The fiery god smirked amused which made Hecate's insides turn to ice… Oh sweet Rhea, what was he planning to do to her?

'And don't be too long down there ok?' Persephone smiled sweetly at her husband, completely ignoring the witch.

'I won't..' Hades then lent into Persephone and kissed her lips. '-love ya..' He uttered cheerfully before vanishing in a tower of flames with the fearfully protesting witch in tow.

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey Peeps, the chapter title is a massive nudge towards the fact that Persephone was considered to be the 'Iron Queen' of the Underworld in Greek myth. It also kind of hints to the cold-heartedness of the goddess in this chapter… she isn't possessed, which was asked in a review, the goddess was only tapping into the baby's powers since they are linked with her own. The influence of the baby's power is what makes her so out of character.. Speaking of which, if you can't guess who the baby is in this __majorly__ hinted chapter then you probably won't get it until it's born (which should be very soon)…_

_Ok, it was always my plan to have the wolves die, I doubt anybody will miss them too much, this chapter came really easily to me since it was one of the first ideas that hit me when planning to write this story. And since Hecate tried twice in the series to overthrow Hades with next to no punishment I felt that it was time for her to get some comeuppance. But don't worry peeps, this isn't the last time you will see the witch.._

_..nor is the story finished. What's going to happen to Hecate? Where is the Helmet of Darkness hidden? And who will win the gender bet?_

_Stay tuned… the answers are coming very soon.._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	29. The Last Secrets of Hades

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

* * *

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Twenty-Nine:****The Last Secrets of Hades..**

A week after Hecate's attempted conquest passed and things began to return to normal in the Underworld. The imps and Sirens had been stunned to learn about the deaths of their rival-minions Havoc and Mayhem but after learning exactly _how_ the two wolves had died they would never look at their mistress or her unborn baby in the same light ever again.

With the baby due at some point in the next week the pregnant goddess was under strict orders from her husband to relax and not worry about a thing while he took care of all Underworld business. The imps were on New Arrival alert and the Sirens were holding down the Elysian Fields, leaving the fiery god with a mountain of paperwork from all four corners of the Underworld to work through.

Thankfully Demeter was on hand to help take care of her daughter. With the Eleusian Harvest Festivals finally over the green-skinned goddess had packed up her things and moved into the guest bedroom down the hall and was staying until the baby was born, then once she was satisfied that both Hades and Persephone were confident enough with their little one the goddess would return to Olympus.

Nothing could prepare the Goddess of Nature for the story that her heavily pregnant daughter spun her the moment she appeared out of her orange tulip with her trunk. At first Demeter couldn't believe what her child was saying, Hecate had been her friend since they had met during the Titan War and it was hard to believe that she would ever try to harm her daughter. But after hearing the imps and Sirens take on the events running up to the showdown above the Vortex of Fire the goddess was forced to accept that it was true. This new information made the green-skinned goddess feel very betrayed indeed. She had tolerated Hecate's dislike for Hades, after all most gods on Olympus despised the fiery god especially after the Titan 'incident' seven years ago… but to drag her daughter into the frame, particularly in her condition, was inexcusable. The fuming Goddess of Nature then went off to Hecate's home to go and confront the witch about it, vanishing before Persephone could explain that she'd already been dealt with.

When the green-skinned goddess returned from her so-called friend's grotto in the Nether-Regions she was still wearing a stunned expression.

'Mother?' Persephone sounded heaving herself, with some difficulty, out of the throne and moving towards Demeter. 'Are you ok?'

'She was like a whole different person..' The Goddess of Nature sounded faintly, she looked as though she would faint any second.

'What?' Persephone blinked confused, she hadn't seen Hecate since the showdown over the Vortex of Fire.

'She was so..' Demeter paused looking for the right description. '-_not_ her..' She finished lamely causing a pregnant Persephone to snort irritably.

'Make sense mother..' The white-skinned goddess folded her arms irritably. '-your vaguer than the Fates.'

'Persephone..' Demeter seemed to snap out of her shock then gripped her daughter by the shoulders. '-what did Hades do to her in Tartarus?'

'I don't know..' Persephone squealed, wincing in pain. '-he never told me..'

Hades had remained silent and secretive over his punishment over the witch, though he did promise that it was well appropriate considering her crimes against the Underworld. Persephone wasn't bothered about what kind of punishment the witch had received, her husband had said it was well-thought out and Hecate would be regretting her actions for eternity so she believed him. The Queen of the Underworld really didn't want to know much about his business in Tartarus, besides that was a place where Hades unleashed a side of him his wife wasn't allowed to see.

'What do you mean he _didn't_ tell you?' Demeter sounded horrified. 'You're his wife, your Queen of this realm, you have a right to know..'

'Mother it's not a big deal… Tartarus is his realm.' Persephone tried to reassure her mother, recognising the look of worry on her mother's face. But Demeter wasn't listening she turned around to the hallway glaring crossly. Persephone plugged her eardrums so the volume of her mother's voice wouldn't deafen her, thankfully it was only her who could cause the Underworld to quake.

'_Hades!_'

* * *

The next second Hades appeared out of a curl of smoke wincing tenderly and wiggling a finger in his ear trying to get rid of the ringing.

'Ah geez Demeter… how many times I gotta tell ya, only me and Sephy do the voice raisin' down here..' He sounded faintly, still trying to get his hearing in order.

'What did you do to Hecate..?' Demeter snarled hotly ignoring Hades' words and looking furious.

'That information is on a need to know basis babe..' The fiery god smirked smugly before it was wiped off as his green-skinned mother-in-law seized him by the neck of his chiton and dragged him down to her level.

'We _need_ to know what you did to her!' Demeter hissed crossly and Hades grimaced in protest. 'I went to talk to her about this 'takeover' issue and the poor witch was practically scared to death, she kept apologising and promising that she'd make it up to Persephone..' The fiery god then pulled himself out of his mother-in-law's grip as the Queen of the Underworld looked completely bemused by Demeter's words.

'Wait…' Persephone then spun around to Hades with an suspicious gaze. '-why does Hecate want to make peace with me?'

'Oy vey..' Hades slapped his flaming head and shook it wearily. '-I was gonna wait until the baby was born to tell ya but I guess _someone-_' He gave Demeter a brief glare. '-has ruined that idea now…' He then leaned into his mother-in-law and said in a low voice. '-thanks a lot _Ma_.'

Demeter only rolled her eyes irritably, waiting for him to explain himself.

'Oh-_kaay_..' Hades sighed heavily, bracing himself for one Tartarus of a reaction. '-when I was down in Tartarus with Hecate, I kinda forced her into this _deal_..' The fiery god tailed off as Persephone's brows raised and Demeter was gazing at him in shocked awe.

'What _kind_ of deal..?' Persephone asked tentatively, unsure if she really ready to know this just yet. Hades groaned inwardly, really wishing that his wife didn't have to find out this way but he relented and answered her question.

'Well, by this point I'd spooked her pretty bad-' Hades broke off flaring a very brief shade of orange as Demeter made a snorting noise at this which sounded suspiciously like 'brute'. '_Hey! _I don't sneer at you… _anyway_-' The fiery god returned to his wife and continued. '-I told her that I'd go easy on her, _if_ she signed a contract swearing her to servitude until such a time as her debt to the Underworld was considered repaid.'

'You swore her to servitude?' Persephone sounded aghast. Demeter's scowl returned instantly.

'You _can't_ do that!' She sounded in an appalled voice. 'She's ruler of the Nether-Regions! She has a job to do!'

'Not anymore she's not.' Hades sounded matter-of-factly causing both Persephone and Demeter's jaws to drop in shock at his words.

'But… but… Zeus-' The Goddess of Nature stuttered trying to string a sentence together as the fiery god smirked amused by her face.

'Zeus didn't give her the Nether-Regions..' Hades replied airily, knowing what his mother-in-law was trying to say. '-he only made her Goddess of Witchcraft. _I_ gave her the Nether-Region since it is _technically_ a part of my Underworld which means I can take it away again.' He then turned away from the two shocked goddesses and continued with one hand behind his back. 'I need someone I can trust to run that realm-' He swung around with his eyes narrowed and a small smirk playing about his lips. '-and since Hecate _abused_ that trust I decided to entrust the Nether-Regions to the _one_ deity I know I can trust, besides you Sephykins..' Hades qualified with a low purr into his wife's ear.

'Oh.' Demeter arched an eyebrow questioningly. 'And who might that be?' However it wasn't Hades who answered her question.

'Hypnos..' Persephone said as a small smile twitched her lips, Hades had always been close to his big brother.

'You got it..' Hades grin widened at her words.

'So wait..' Persephone turned to her husband and deciding to back-track a little. '-how long are you planning to keep Hecate in servitude for?'

'Me?' Hades blinked in surprise before giving a low, soft throaty chuckle of amusement, pulling out the witch's contract and unfurling it for his wife to see. 'She's not in debt to me babe..' Persephone's eyes widened as she scanned the written contract in front of her.

'She's a servant to _me_..' The pregnant goddess sounded awe-struck.

'What?' Demeter sounded shocked and appearing by her daughter's side staring at the contract too.

'Until such a time as _Persephone_ sees fit to release her..' Hades smirked amused checking his fingernails casually before switching into business mode. 'Now if you ladies don't mind, I got some new arrivals to greet..' The fiery god then swivelled around, a black clipboard appearing in his fingers but he only managed a few steps towards the stairway to the Styx before a voice spoke.

'Hold it..' Demeter sounded and Hades instantly halted, turning back around. '-why don't I go greet the souls? You need some time with your wife..' And before the god could object the plump green-skinned goddess had snatched the clipboard out of his hands and disappeared down the stairway to the docks of the Styx.

* * *

Hades blinked after his mother-in-law as she disappeared down to the Styx.

'Does she even know what she's doing?' The fiery god turned back and raised an eyebrow confused at his wife. Persephone smirked and shrugged exaggeratedly.

'I dunno, but the imps are down there right? All she's gotta do is welcome them… how hard can that be?' The heavily pregnant goddess smiled sweetly, perching herself on the edge of the chessboard as standing for so long was staring to make her feet swell. Hades then made a dismissive grunting noise deciding not to argue abut it, after all at least he got to spend a few moments with his wife.

The first thing the god noticed when he turned to his wife was the massive round bump that was sticking out in front of her, it was really did look like Persephone would pop any day now. The tired-looking goddess widened her legs slightly with a sigh, letting the bump balance more comfortably against the chessboard. Hades felt a pang of guilt wash over him as he moved beside his wife, the fiery god had been so snowed under with work that he had barely spent anytime with Persephone and her bump. The goddess lent her head wearily on her husband's shoulder, smiling slightly as his arm wrapped around her.

'Uh, I didn't want to keep that from ya Sephy.' Hades sounded softly turning his eyes onto his wife who was gazing at Hecate's contract. 'I just didn't want to burden ya with it while you were still like this.' He gestured to her large bump.

'It's ok sweetie..' She sighed eventually, rolling up the contract and holding it out to her husband. '-I understand that..' Persephone paused, reminded of something that had been itching her curiosity then she turned back to her husband smiling nervously. 'Uh, can I ask you just one tiny little thing?' She cocked her head slightly.

'Shoot..' Hades smirked slightly while brushing a loose curl of blonde hair from Persephone's face then taking the contract off her.

'What _did_ you do with the Helmet of Darkness?' In truth Persephone wasn't expecting an answer, at the very least the goddess was expecting her husband to brush her off with a vague answer like 'it's safe' and then never want to speak of it again. However she was amazed when Hades arched an eyebrow at her question, looking thoughtful as if debating how much to tell her.

And then she got an answer.

'It's in the same place it's always been.' The fiery god smirked wider at his wife before his round yellow eyes swivelled around the room, making sure the two of them were still alone. When he was satisfied that the Sirens, imps and Demeter were not going to appear anytime soon he stood up holding his hands out to his wife. 'C'mon I'll show ya..'

Persephone blinked stunned by this.

'Sh-show me?' She stuttered in amazement. Her heart lurched and a swell of pleasure fluttered inside her. He thought she was trustworthy enough to share his best kept secret with.

'Sure..' Hades drawled, his eyes narrowing with amusement at his wife's shock. '-I trust ya Sephykins.' Persephone then beamed at his words and took hold of his arms letting him hoist her to her feet again. To her surprised they didn't leave the room, instead Hades lead her over to his huge stone throne. Then, with a glance to double-check that they were still alone, the god then bent over and gripped the seat of his throne.

The pregnant goddess gawped in amazement as the solid-looking square stone seat began to move, grinding slowly along the base on the throne as the fiery god strained with the weight of it.

'Ooh, don't strain yourself sweetie..' Persephone sounded anxiously at her husband's strenuous expression as the throne seat finally came free of the base and wobbled in his hands.

'Pfft.. it's 'kay babe.. I got it.. I got it..' He puffed before setting it down at the side of his throne. 'Sheesh..' Hades wiped the sweat from his face. '-forgot how hefty that thing is..' He uttered slightly out of breath.

'I always thought that the whole base was just solid rock..' Persephone mumbled staring at the huge square slab of rock now lent on the step down from the throne.

'Heh, yeh… that was the idea when I designed it.' Hades responded sliding his arm around his wife's swollen waist and leaning slightly on her.

In the middle of the throne base was a large square shaped hole, like a secret compartment, and sitting comfortably in it was the Helmet of Darkness. Persephone smiled at the sight of it, it's sleek black metal surface glinted in the dull blue Underworld light.

'May I?' Persephone asked her husband, indicating that she wanted to lift the helmet. Hades gave a slight nod while smirking.

'Knock yourself out..' He sounded and the pregnant goddess leant forward a little and picked up the black helmet so she could get a better look at it. It felt cool and smooth against her fingers, Persephone was careful where she placed her fingers in case she left finger marks on it's highly polished surface. It's simple design was very similar to the red helmet that Ares wore, there was no intricate detailing on it at all and it was clearly designed to fit Hades' face but there was one crucial difference that Persephone couldn't fail to notice.

'Why isn't there any plume?' The goddess sounded gesturing to the crown of the helmet where Ares' helmet had a large red plume.

'Oh that's 'cause when I put it on my flames..' Hades pulled the neck of his chiton, slightly embarrassed by this fact. '-kinda come out the top..' He turned his eyes away from his wife hoping she wouldn't ask him to put it on.

'Really?' Persephone sounded fascinated by this, still holding onto the helmet. She was about to ask him to put it on and let her see but she caught the uneasy look on his face and decided not to. Instead the goddess set it back down in the secret compartment in the base of his throne and wrapped her arms around her husband's waist.

'So how come you've just stashed it away like this?' She asked him curiously and the god's smirk returned and the god sighed rubbing Persephone's back affectionately.

'To tell ya the truth Sephy, I just never liked the damn thing and besides, if it's out of sight then nobody can overthrow me.' The god paused before adding in a low voice. 'Except you, now know ya know where it is..' The god then lifted the hefty stone slab and slid it back into place before flopping down into his throne, letting his wife climb into his lap and make herself comfortable.

'I'd never overthrow you Hades.' Persephone smiled sweetly as her husband ran his fingers lightly over her bump.

'Yeh I know babe..' He responded gently leaning into give her a smouldering kiss.

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Heya Peeps, I was supposed to go out clubbing this weekend but the damn heavy snow screwed that up for me so instead of moping about feeling sorry for myself I decided to write some more DHL… Damn snow! XP_

_Ok, it was always my intention for Hecate to end up under the servitude of Persephone. I'm trying to untangle the mess that Disney made of her character and try to restore her into something that is more along the lines of her myth (this also involved getting rid of her Queen of the Night title and returning the Nether-Regions to it's rightful ruler Hypnos) .. Hecate was a goddess but was considered both a close, personal friend of Persephone and also a loyal servant to the Queen of the Underworld. Having Hades make one of his nasty deals seemed to be the most straight-forward way of explaining how this came about, as well as showing that Hades has not lost the 'villainous' touch._

_I do hope I surprised some of you with the location of the Helmet of Darkness, the idea of it being hidden away inside his throne came to me after watching the Hercules film and seeing the design of Hades' throne. And besides if it looked solid then nobody would think to look for it there._

_Ok, I promise that the baby will be born in the next couple of chapters and that there's a little story surprise for everybody at the end that I'm not giving away…_

_Stay tuned… keep reviewing and all will be revealed very soon!_

_Lots of Love… Ditzy X_


	30. The long Awaited moment Arrives

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…___

___**

* * *

**_

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Thirty:****The long Awaited moment Arrives..**

The days seemed to drag very slowly in the Underworld, which was very unusual for this time of year considering how busy it was. Nevertheless with the baby due any day the whole of the subterranean realm was gearing up for the baby's arrival. Even the souls who had just arrived were quick to get swept up in the excitement of a brand-new baby godling in the Underworld. Persephone's brother Bacchus too was eagerly awaiting the birth of his brand new niece or nephew and had promised that once the new baby was born he would throw his sister the best Birth Celebration any side of the cosmos had ever seen.

Everybody inside the House of Hades was on tenterhooks just waiting for the baby to arrive, all six of them seemed to sense that at any moment Persephone's waters would break. However no-one was quite as anxious and worked up as Hades himself. With the baby due any day now the fiery god was teetering on the edge of his sanity, especially when Persephone's hicks began. Taking quick advantage of his wife's false contractions Hades started to initiate 'labour drills' which he carried out with military precision. Neither Persephone or Demeter complained too much, it was nice to see the fiery god taking such an open interest in his child's birth, even if it was bordering on obsessive. The pernickety god scrutinized everything from how fast the Sirens could fix up the delivery room to how long it would take the imps to get the message to Hermes who was sitting on Imp Alert. Since there was a 'no minions allowed' policy on Olympus the imps had special permission from Hera herself to enter the home of the gods, Zeus of course had not been very happy with this bend in the rules but one stern look from his lilac-skinned wife was enough for him to relent and wave the policy this _one_ time.

Of course if the imps could flag down Hermes on one of his errands all the better. The tiny blue Messenger God was incredibly flattered to be getting a small role in assisting in the birth of Hades' first child and since he was the fastest deity in Greece he would be escorting Hera down to the Underworld at lightning speed.

With everyone well prepared for the birth all they could do now was wait…

* * *

…until _finally.._

Persephone was lounging lazily on the large stone throne reading a magazine scroll called _Immortal Babies_ with a glass of iced nectar and a small bowl of worms with two quarters of pomegranate in it. The heavily pregnant goddess was on her own at this present moment in time but she knew her husband, mother and minions were only a call away if she needed them.. besides as much as she loved all the pampering and fuss it was nice to get a breather from her neurotic family. The goddess winced as a flash of pain came over her.

'Damn hicks..' Persephone groaned, rubbing her swollen abdomen as the baby lurched uncomfortably, wishing that the false contraction would just dissipate already so she could get back to her magazine. Then her eyes widened as she suddenly felt wetness in between her legs. At first she thought she had wet herself, it wouldn't have been the first time during her pregnancy as the baby like torturing her bladder, but when the goddess moved to inspect it a huge surge of agony washed over her and she gasped, realising the baby was finally coming she cried out for the first deity that came to mind.

'_Mama!_' Her voice came out slightly more frightened than she actually felt inside and then Persephone realised that she had just called for her mother using a call that she hadn't uttered since she was a little girl.

The effect of her cry was immediate. Demeter heard the cry and her heart lurched with dread, instantly abandoned what it was she had been doing she immediately rushed into the throne room. She only had to look at her daughter to know what was happening, her waters had broke.

'Oh good Gaia, the baby's coming..' The green-skinned goddess sighed with relief seeing it wasn't bad news. Her blue eyes widened as her statement hit her, then she whirled around and cried out slightly flustered, '-_Hades, the baby's coming!_' Seconds later the flamed-haired father-to-be appeared in a whirl of black smoke, having come straight from his study, looking almost as flustered and shocked as his mother-in-law.

'Wh-what?' He stuttered nervously, his eyes wide like saucers. Persephone rolled her eyes at this anxious display… She winced a little uncomfortably .._Unbelievable_.. She was the one giving about to give birth, stuck in the throne and the two of them were behaving like a _certain_ pair of imps.

'_Hello_..' The pregnant goddess snapped irritably, jolting both Hades and Demeter back to reality. 'How 'bout a little assistance?' She gestured unnecessarily to herself.. after all, she was the one in labour right now.

'Uh..' Hades sounded unsurely as his mind went blank for a moment.

'C'mon..' Demeter sounded decisively moving to her daughter's side.'-Hades call the minions and let's get this show on the road.'

'Right..' The fiery god shook his flaming blue head roughly then spun on one hip and bellowed.

'_Molpe! Pain! Panic! Raidne! Tele!_' The fiery god reeled off the names of all five minions and both the Sirens and imps all pricked up their ears.'_Front and centre now… this is not a drill!_' On hearing this both sets of minions instantly dropped what they were doing and headed for the throne room.

As both imps appeared hurrying up the stairs from the docks of the Styx the three identical Sirens swooped in through the large rounded window of the throne room. The moment the girls' violet eyes caught their pregnant mistress puffing and straining in the throne as Demeter was holding her hand for support they knew exactly what to do. Landing neatly on the floor they darted over to the big chest in the corner as their wings dissolved into nothing. Opening it the three girls hauled out the bedding and pillows and then began to speedily transform the chessboard into the delivery table just as they'd been rehearsing with Hades.

The fiery god raised a brow looking quietly impressed by the girls initiative before a small male voice made him look around.

'Uh, you called you most inflammableness?'

Hades eyes bulged in shock as his large pupils rested on his own two dense imps who were standing there letting the side down. The god then shot a nasty glare at his two pathetic excuses for minions.

Both Pain and Panic shook in fear at his serious glower… why did they get the spine-chilling feeling that they were forgetting something _very_ important.

Hades placed his fingers on the bridge of his nose and sighed with an air of impatience.

'_What.._' Hades flared a nastier shade of orange as he spoke in a slow baby voice laced with pent-up fury.'-_are you… still doing here!_' He snarled the last part practically snorting like a rabid Cerberus. It was unbelievable… he gave them the _easiest_ job in the cosmos to remember and the two of them _still_ managed to louse it up.

Both imps jaws fell open in horror as Hades' flames rose the more annoyed he got until he was a fiery inferno of fury and the fiery god bent towards them hissing,

'_Go get Hera… Now!' _Hades bellowed the last word at the top of his lungs and before either imp could move he'd summoned a huge fireball and blasted the pair out of the window.

'Aye-yi-yi… imps..' The god snorted as his flames receded and returned to blue, Hades then turned back around as Demeter and the girls were helping Persephone into her delivery chiton and settling her down on the delivery table.

* * *

Pain and Panic cried out in agony as they were unceremoniously blasted from the throne room in a massive ball of orange flames. As the fire died away the two badly charred imps used this thrust to their advantage and began flapping their singed wings as hard and fast as they could.

'I can't believe you forgot..' Panic snarled as the two imps flew passed Charon, who was too busy reading the newscroll to notice, and shooting up the long stairwell to the surface.

'_Me!_' Pain snorted in response to his skinny green partner. '-I've got a memory like a sieve.. _You_ were supposed to remind _me!_'

'Oh yeh..' Panic rolled his eyes wearily. '-passin' buck Pain, that's _real_ mature..'

'Hey, you started it!' Pain retorted as the two of them as they finally arrived onto the surface barely even noticing that it was night time up here.

'I did not!' Panic scoffed irritably.

'You did so!' Pain snapped.

'Did not..'

'Did so!'

'Did not..'

'Did so!'

By the time the two of them had reached the gates of Olympus they'd forgotten what is was they were supposed to be arguing about.

'Wait..' Pain sounded confused, stopping Panic before he could push the golden gates of Olympus open. '-what were we arguing about again?' Panic blinked before shrugging.

'Ah, I can't remember..' The skinny green imp then pushed the big gate open with a slight screech. The two imps didn't get more than a few feet when Hermes appeared, still wearing his day clothes.

'I'm sorry guys no minions on Olym-' The tiny blue god instantly stopped mid-sentence when he realised that it was Hades' imps, the two minions that had been given special permission to come up here when..

'Oh-oh-oh..' Hermes' eyes widened was he realised the obvious reason that the two imps were here. '-Oh my days, the baby is coming now!' He exclaimed suddenly grinning widely.

'Duh..' Panic sneered.

'Why else would we be here?' Pain added with the same look of scorn.

'Ok, settle down fellas..' Hermes smirked. '-I'll just grab Hera and meetcha down there lickety-split 'kay?'

Both imps looked unsure for a moment making low groaning noises.

'Ok wise guy..' Panic sounded scowling distrustfully at the tiny blue god. '-but if you don't show it's our butts the boss is gonna fry.'

'Yeh, yeh.. noted..' Hermes waved them off pulling a disturbed face. '-thanks for the mental image guys.' The imps frowned before disappearing in two puffs of green and pink smoke.

'Heh, now that pair _really_ are just too nutty..' The Messenger God smirked before disappearing off in a blue blur to locate Hera.

* * *

'_Hermes_..' Hera squeaked startled still holding her delicate pink night chiton in her hands as she'd just started getting ready for bed in her private dressing room.

'Heh, did I scare ya babe?' Hermes smirked amused.

'Yes..' She sounded with a slight irritable edge. 'What do you want?'

'Well uh, sorry to disrupt what looks like it woulda been a fun evening..' Hermes wiggled his brows at the scantly revealing night chiton. Hera scowled and instantly hid it from the tiny blue god's sight. '-but your urgent presence is required in the Underworld, if ya catch my drift.' The god added with a smirk.

For a brief second Hera looked taken aback before her face split into a wide beam, all the tiredness of the day was now completely forgotten.

'Persephone's giving birth..' She clutched her hands to her chest with an emotional expression before she suddenly turned serious.'-just give me one second.' The lilac-skinned goddess then moved to the cloudy door that lead back into her shared bedroom with Zeus. She then stuck her head through the door to speak with her husband.

'Zeus dear..' Hera's sounded in a sweet tone. '-I'm sorry but I'm needed in the Underworld..'

'What?' Zeus boomed in shock as he'd been lounging in bed waiting for his wife to join him. 'Do you have to go right now?' He asked pouting irritable, trust it to those Underworldian deities to ruin his rare 'alone' time with his wife.

'Yes..' Hera rolled her eyes upwards in slight irritation. '-Persephone's gone into labour and she needs my assistance.'

'But Demeter's down there isn't she?' The tanned god sounded in a slightly pleading voice. 'Can't she take care of it?'

'Uh..' Hera snorted shaking her head in disbelief. '-_noo.._' There was a hint of whining in her frustrated voice. '-I'm Persephone's mid-wife! I _need_ to go!' She scowled now.

'Ok, fine.. _go_..' Zeus waved her off then wrapped himself in the duvet and turned his back on his wife, pretending to snuggle down to sleep despite the fact that he was to irritated to slumber.

'Oh don't be like that dear..' Hera sighed heavily. '-after all, your getting a little niece or nephew..'

'I know what I'd _rather_ be getting..' The sulky Lord of Olympus uttered to himself causing Hera to frown at his words.

'Good_night_ Zeus..' The lilac-skinned goddess sounded in a tone that indicated this discussion was at an end before pulling her head back through the cloud.

'All set babe..' Hermes sounded twitching anxiously, not wanting to leave his best friend waiting to much longer. Hera smiled at him, shaking her brief tiff with her pig-headed husband from her mind.

'Yes, but we'll need to make a quick pit-stop on the way first.' She smiled allowing Hermes to grip her around the waist securely.

'Hey, no problemo Hera..' The Messenger god held onto her securely before adding,'-now hold onto your chiton babe, this is gonna be a speedy ride..' He smirked as they took off in a bluish-lilac blur as Hera let out a high-pitched terrified shriek, she'd never been good travelling at this kind of velocity.

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey peeps, this chapter title has a double meaning, not only is it in reference of this chapter in which Persephone goes into labour but it is also for you guys, my loyal fans who have been so patiently waiting for this baby to arrive… thank you for being so tolerant and for helping me smash P.o.P's review numbers.. You guys rule! XP_

_Ha-Ha, does anybody feel bad for Zeus not getting any winkitty-wink-wink? Nahhh, me neither.. besides it's fun to see him in a grouchy mood!_

_OMG, the baby is almost here!_

_Stay tuned and please keep the reviews coming, they mean a lot.._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X _


	31. Guess who Won the Gender Bet?

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

* * *

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Thirty-One:****Guess who Won the Gender-Bet?**

As Persephone's piercing labour screams echoed through the cavernous realms of the Underworld work stopped as the subterranean inhabitants all turned towards the House of Hades nervously, it sounded as if their queen was being tortured in Tartarus. Even Charon, who was well-known for keeping his nose out of his boss' affairs, stopped rowing his boat and drifted along the Styx waters as the whole Underworld braced themselves for the new arrival..

'Mo-_omee_..' Persephone squealed through gritted teeth as pain engulfed her lower abdomen, her blonde hair was now whipping golden flames as her contractions were coming closer together. '-it _huuurts_..' The white-skinned goddess then seized her husband's wrist and squeezed it extremely tight.

'Ah_-_ah_-ahhh_..' The fiery god's face contorted in agony as the crushing pain in his wrist reminded him of when the infant Hercules had crushed his finger.

'I know it does pumpkin but your doing just fine..' Demeter soothed stroking her daughter's tear-stained cheek. '-now try to relax, Hera will be here soon..' Hades who had now managed to pry his wrist from his wife's vice-like grip flexed his fingers wincing painfully.

'She friggin' better be..' The fiery god uttered moodily. '-I didn't sign up for this kind of abuse..'

'Oh stop trying to make this about you Hades..' Demeter sounded dismissively causing the fiery god to frown irritably at her words.

'I wasn't-' The god started but was cut off as a whooshing bluish-lilac blur speed into the room and stooped abruptly before the chessboard to reveal Hermes and a very sickly looking Hera.

The Queen of the Gods held a dainty hand over her mouth as she retched, her stomach still trying to catch up with the rest of her.

'Uh, you ok Hera..' The tiny blue Messenger God asked her concerned.

'I'll be fine..' The lilac-skinned goddess sounded faintly, her blonde hair looking wind-swept from the trip down. '-just give me a moment to get my bearings.' A few moments later there was a burst of golden fire in the thick-set black stone fireplace and out of it shot Hestia. As the golden-skinned goddess dusted off her peach chiton she beamed at the assembly of gods who were all crowed around Persephone. The pregnant goddess managed to smile at her beloved aunt even though she was in so much discomfort.

'Well then..' Hestia sounded in a cheery yet resolute voice. '-let's get this baby delivered, shall we?' The Sirens moved away from their mistress to let the two goddesses take over as mid-wives. The girls then moved near to where their two male counterparts were hiding behind the side of Hades' stone throne as their queen's painful shrieks made them nervous. The three Sirens silently giggled at the two imps, they obviously couldn't tell the difference between shrieks of pain and shrieks of rage.

'Ok Persephone..' The lilac-goddess spoke while examining her. '-we're not quite there yet, you've got another _tinsy-_' Hera's fingers were almost touching to articulate her point. '-bit to go before your fully dilated..'

'Uhh..' Persephone flopped back against her husband groaning irritably. '-I just want this baby _outta_ _me_..' Both Demeter and Hera smiled sympathetically as they were the only ones present who had given birth to children.

'Well it's about _time_ you got here..' Hades was saying in a low voice to Hermes who grinned nervous and apologetic.

'Sorry big guy but the traffic comin' into the Underworld this time of year is unreal.. seriously man, I don't know how ya deal with it.'

'I _told_ you to just come with me on the hearth network..' Hestia sounded irritably from the fireplace as she was boiling a bowl of water to bath the baby in once it was born.

'Urgh, no thanks babe..' Hermes shook his head. '-the last time I used that thing I was coughing up soot for a month.' Hestia frowned at the 'babe' comment before checking the temperature of the water and placing some towels by the heat to warm them up.

Then just as everyone seemed to get settled Persephone jerked upright and gave a horrible scream as agony ripped through her. Pain and Panic, who had just worked up enough courage to come out from the throne, dived back behind it as the Sirens winced in sympathy, grateful that they'd never have to experience this kind of pain themselves.

'Alright everyone, this is it..' Hera declared satisfied. '-the baby is coming..'

'W-what?' Persephone squealed out already looking worn out and terrified.

'It's alright sweetheart..' Demeter instantly squeezed her daughter's hand. '-just remember your breathing..' She began to do the little breathing exercise that Hera had taught her in her anti-natals. Persephone mimicked her mother and she felt the pain numb slightly.

'It's crowning..' Hera sounded before turning her blue eyes to the pregnant goddess who was sweating profusely. '-I'm going to need a big push from you Persephone..' The young goddess gave another scream, silently cursing this new form of torture.

'I can't..' She sobbed wiping away the mixture of sweat and tears on her face as the pain was still throbbing. 'I can't..'

'Yes you can..' Demeter sounded instantly, feeling a touch frustrated.

'_Noo_..' Persephone instantly tried to scoot away but the pain was too much.

'Sephy look at me..' Hades sounded dragging his wife's attention away from her mother. '-ya gotta try babe.' The exhausted goddess merely blinked at him through green eyes clouded in anguish.

'But it hurts..' She could only utter then whining as another twinge of pain hit her.

'Yeh I know it does baby..' Hades sounded sympathetically wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulder and leaning into her ear. '-but ya gotta do this, not for me but for the kid.. I mean if this is uncomfortable for you think what it doin' to it..' Persephone shut her eyes and took in a deep breath to clear her head of the pain before sighing.

'Ok sweetie..' Hades then held out his free hand and the goddess took it with a smile. '-I'll do it.'

'That's my girl..' Hades' voice was low, throaty and warm, it never failed to make his wife feel secure in his presence.

'Come on Persephone..' Hera's command broke the tender moment and in an instant Persephone was leaning against her husband's shoulder with one hand squeezing her mother's hand and the other squashing Hades'. '-I need you to push now!'

The white-skinned goddess then gritted her teeth and pushed while making a loud painful whining noise through the slight gaps. When finally the goddess didn't have the energy to continue the push she gave an exhausted cry and sunk back against her husband panting for breath.

'I've got a head..' Hera trilled happily causing Hades to flash a wide-fanged grin and Persephone to give a tired smile. Demeter too smiled excitedly and rubbed the back of her daughter's wrist.

'Your doing so well, your father would've been so proud of you.' Hermes, who had beaming widely at his best friend filled with tears of pride and joy, suddenly blinked in shock at the green-skinned goddess' words as he'd never heard her utter a peep about Iason since his death.

'I'll need another _big _push for the shoulders..' Hera sounded once more breaking the brief moment. '-you ready Persephone?' The worn-out goddess groaned but straightened herself, clasping both her husband and mother before nodding with grim determination. She then gritted her teeth, squeezed her eyes tight shut and gave another hard push.

Hera took hold of the first shoulder as it appeared and gently manoeuvred the second tiny shoulder of the new-born infant out. Once they were free the rest of the baby instantly popped out with the rest of it. The moment the lilac skinned-goddess cut the baby's cord her golden-skinned sister instantly swooped forward with a warm towel and scooped the infant up before either of it's parents could get a proper look at it. Demeter at this point swept towards her daughter and kissed her cheek before she too joined her sisters who were bathing the infant and muttering in low voices.

Persephone flopped back against her husband tired, but pleased that the baby was finally outside of her body and not messing with her powers. The moment the little one had left her the young goddess' white aura returned to full brightness and it glowed brightly against her husband's dark chiton.

'I'm so proud of ya babe..' Hades' soft voice crooned in her ear and Persephone turned gently around to her husband as she still felt a little tender and sore.

'I couldn't have done it without you..' She replied sweetly as she beamed up at him. The two deities then locked lips in a compassionate kiss.

* * *

The kiss was broken as Demeter's voice rung out in fretfully,

'Why isn't it crying?' Both Hades and Persephone broke apart then turned as one with gut-wrenching dread towards the three Olympian sisters who were still fussing over their new-born infant.

'What's wrong with my baby?' Persephone asked nervously, leaning forward a little towards her mother and aunts.

'Is it breathing..' Hera sounded to her sister and Hestia bent over the little one's head.

'Yes, it is..' She responded with a smile to her youngest sister and Hera sighed with relief.

'But why isn't it crying like a normal baby?' Demeter sounded not convinced that the baby was healthy as the silence was unnerving.

'Not all babies scream the house down when they're born Deme..' Hera soothed her sister and poked the new-born infant in the ribs which caused it to momentarily gurgle uncomfortable. '-some are just naturally quiet, now will you _please_ stop trying to scare it's parents.' The lilac-skinned goddess frowned as Hestia wrapped up the little godling in a deep indigo swaddling cloth.

'So the kid's ok?' Hades sounded in relief, placing a hand over his heart and sighing as if he'd been close to a panic-attack.

'Yes..' Hestia smiled serenely as she passed the tiny infant over to it's mother. '-he's a perfectly healthy little god..' She sounded happily clutching her hands together and admiring her brand-new little nephew.

'Oh.. he's so _sweet_..' Persephone cooed gazing at the little baby in her arms. He was completely bald, just like his daddy when his flames were out, he had a perfectly straight little nose that ended in a little point and although his little eyes were closed, they were deep-set with dark little shadows, just like his daddy. However the little boy didn't have a long chin, instead his face was heart-shaped like his mommy's and he even had her pearly white-skin skin tone too, making the shadows of his eyes a soft grey instead of dark greyish-blue.

'Aww, congratulations buddy..' Hermes clapped Hades over the shoulder grinning widely at the brand-new father. Behind them all the three Sirens were somersaulting with tearful excitement as the imps, who had finally sensed it was safe to emerge from behind the throne, were twirling each other while gleefully chanting,

'We've gotta new boss, we've gotta new boss..'

'I gotta son..' Hades uttered still in complete shock over the whole thing and looking down at his first-born child with a mixture of pride and affection. '-I gotta boy..' He repeated looking from his wife to his biological sisters and both Hestia and Persephone beamed nodding blissfully while Demeter and Hera could only smile tearfully. Suddenly the god snapped to his senses as he realised what this meant…

…He had one the gender-bet!

The fiery god suddenly bounced to his feet looking both smug and totally in the mood to gloat about this.

'Yeh-heh-_heh_-_hesss!_' The fiery god screeched gleefully, becoming a towering inferno of bright blue flames and suddenly strutting around like a puffed-out peacock as he started a little happy dance, complete with immature finger pointing at his wife. 'In your face, in your face-'

'Oh good Gaia..' Demeter sighed completely mortified, pulling her green cornflower crown over her head to shield her from witnessing any more of this exuberant display.

'-in your face with a can of mace, gonna make you cry all over the place..' Hades continued to goad his wife as she merely stared at her husband, still holding the baby who wasn't the least bit perturbed by his daddy's boisterous activity, in fact he still hadn't opened his eyes. Hera and Hestia too were staring in shock and disbelief while Hermes just didn't know where to look so he had busied himself with the suddenly interesting ceiling of the throne room.

'Who's the daddy, who's the daddy-' Hades suddenly froze mid-celebration as he realised that he was being stared at, not only by his peers but also by his five underlings who were all stood together silently wondering if he had lost all sanity in the last few seconds.

'What?' Hades asked looking around them all confused. 'Sheesh, can't a guy be happy he gotta son?'

'Of course sweetie..' Persephone was the first to respond as she giggled amused by her husband. '-and that means you won fair and square, so what's the baby's name?' She was smiling widely at the father of her newly-born son, waiting for an answer.

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Heya Peeps, that a fast enough update for ya, huh? XD_

_Aww, the little baby is a boy… sorry to all of you who guessed the baby was girl but fear not everybody, the baby will be getting siblings in the next story… the first chapter of which is almost finished and I just realised this story I almost finished too.. *sobs*_

_Ok, the birth of the baby is kind of based on the birth of my friend's daughter and a little on my own birth, apparently I didn't cry that much… but also taking into account who this baby will be (I know some of you have figured this out already) the little scare seemed appropriate._

_Also, the way Hestia travels in from fireplace to fireplace is the same principle as the Floo network in the Harry Potter series, it seemed kind of a fitting way for the Goddess of the Hearth to travel (of course in my story only Hestia and whoever she chooses to can travel this way.).. _

_I do have a drawing of what Hades' son looks like and I will be posting it on deviantArt very soon… I just need to do a little tweaking first._

_Stay tuned… and please review._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	32. The Flaming Apple of a Deity's Eye

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

* * *

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

_To Stella Limegood… my 100__th__ reviewer!_

**Chapter Thirty-Two:****The Flaming Apple of a Deity's Eye**

Hades didn't even bother trying to restrain the smug self-satisfied leer that quickly crept over his full blue lips at his wife's words, he then narrowed his large golden eyes and slid across the chessboard until he was sat right next to Persephone and their new-born son. The fiery god's large pupils rolled onto the tiny infant in his wife's slim white arms and quickly studied him before they moved back to Persephone's face.

'Thanatos..' He eventually sounded in one long low rolling purr. The moment the name had left his lips the tiny godling in Persephone's arms opened his eyes, almost as if he already knew this was his name. He was looking straight at Hades with his own large round golden eyes, the moment little Thanatos' eyes focused on his father a miniature smile appeared on his little lips.

'_Death?_' Squawked Demeter in disbelief as she quickly translated the meaning behind his name choice. 'Oh your not seriously going to name your child 'Death' are you?'

'Hey, this is my kid, I'll call him what the Tartarus I want, ok?' Hades snapped, restraining his flames with difficultly so he wouldn't startle his son. The little godling however had now turned his eyes onto his mother who was smiling and making kissy faces.

'Persephone..' Demeter sounded huffily, trying to get her daughter to back her up on this one. The new mother blinked stunned then forced her own green eyes away from her son's yellow ones which were almost as intense as her husband's.

'I like it..' She sounded matter-of-factly causing her mother to groan. '-and from what've seen of his powers it will probably suit him too.' Hades' smirk widened at her words.

'Fine..' Demeter sounded with a heaving sigh, seeing that her family was set on this name. '-but he'll have to receive another name for the Eleusian Mysteries.'

'Alright, fine, whatever..' Hades sounded dismissively waving her off. '-they gave me a different name so they might as well give the kid a new name too-' He then leaned into his wife's ear and uttered quietly. '-which he probably won't like either.' Persephone smirked slightly at her husband's words and she then held out the baby to Hades who instantly pulled back slightly edgy.

'Whoa..' He held his hands up as his son blinked innocently at him. '-whatta ya doin'?' Hades said looking as uncomfortable as he sounded.

'Oh come on sweetie, you have to hold him at some point..' Persephone replied blinking slowly through her thick-lashed eyes.

'Uh yehh..' Hades drawled then tilted a head still looking unsure about it. Hera instantly appeared by the fiery god's side smiling at him.

'It's ok to be nervous Hades..' She sounded sweetly smiling in an adoring fashion.

'I'm _not_ nervous..' The fiery god sounded shortly instantly swivelling his head around to her.

'Oh no?' Hera goaded him with one perfectly formed eyebrow arched in scepticism and folding her arms across her chest. 'Prove it..'

'Fine I will..' The god reacted just as Hera wanted him to, Hades stretched out his hands and carefully took his son by the middle and held him in his grip at eye level. The Queen of the Gods smirked as Hades' face instantly softened when he looked into his son's little round golden eyes. For a moment the little god only smiled sweetly back before Thanatos closed his eyes briefly as he let out a little sneeze. The second he did his tiny bald head suddenly erupted into golden flames that flickered happily.

Hades grinned widely as his little boy opened his eyes again and gave a happy squeal while waving his small fists animatedly. Persephone laughed affectionately from her husband's side as she lent her head against his shoulder.

'Didn't I tell you he'd have flames..' She sounded happily then stretched out her dainty fingers to ruffle her son's newly ignited fiery-hair. Thanatos closed one eye as his mother fingered his flames but his attention was soon back onto his daddy who he seemed to find more fascinating.

'Y'know, I'm not usually a fan of brats but this guy is kinda cute..' Hades smirked at his son finally relenting and pulling the baby god into him. Little Thanatos yawned sleepily before nestling himself into his daddy's chiton and instantly falling asleep.

'Man..' Hermes sounded amused leaning over Hades while watching the little baby doze happily. '-I wish I could go to sleep that fast.'

'Ya want me to grant that wish for ya..' Hades sounded shifting his sleeping son into the crook of one arm and raised his now-free hand and summoning a fireball.

'Uh… nuh-no thanks..' The tiny blue Messenger God sounded fluttering backwards away from the fiery god. '-I choose life..'

'Heh, maybe it's time we returned to Olympus and let you two get acquainted with your little one.' Hestia sounded instantly steeping between Hades and Hermes, smiling somewhat nervously.

'I think that's an excellent suggestion Hestia, the baby is safe and healthy which means our work here is done..' The lilac-skinned goddess then moved over beside her sister who had extinguished the fire in the heavy-set and then stepping into it.

'Are you travelling back with Hermes or do you wish to come with me?' The Goddess of Hearth paused looking at her little sister who glanced at Hermes before shaking her head roughly.

'I'll come with you..' Hera sounded decisively. '-I'd like to keep my stomach intact this time.' She too then stepped into the fire and as Hestia clicked her fingers a huge roar of flames consumed the two goddesses, transporting them back to Olympus.

'Ah geez..' Hermes sounded reluctantly. '-I better be going too, I promised Bacchus I'd bring him the good news, he and his posse are having a party on Sicily if that doesn't sound too nutty..'

'Tell him not to wake Poseidon up this time.' Demeter sounded sharply wagging an irritated finger. 'I still hear about when he held that Bacchanal for Hercules a few years back.'

'Ok babe, will do..' Hermes chuckled good-naturedly before waving bye and vanishing out the throne room window. However the moment he had reached the outside of the Underworld home he stopped dead in his tracks.

'_Holy mother of Zeus.._' The Messenger God cried out shocked by what he saw.

* * *

Hermes instantly flew back inside the throne room window and threw the Lord of the Dead a questioning look.

'Err… you expectin' company Hades?' He sounded causing the fiery god to swivel around to him in mild surprise. Persephone lifted their son, who had started to make a soft bubbling noise, out of his arms and with a little assistance from Demeter she began to breast-fed her baby. The imps and Sirens by this point had fluttered onto the chessboard to get a look at their future boss and playmate.

'No..' Hades responded raising one eyebrow at this question. 'Why?'

'Well, it uh, looks like the Underworld is out there..' Both Pain and Panic swivelled around at these words then jumped down from the chessboard and over to the large circular window.

'What?' Hades' round golden eyes widened sceptically at these words.

'Whoa..' Pain sounded as he and his skinny green partner stared out of the window. Souls had stopped moving along the river, Charon was no longer rowing, the red and yellow eyes of the Harpies and Furies were peering out from the shadows of the Underworld ceiling, Pain and Panic's imp-relations the Miseries were crowed together with both Styx and Cyane who were perched on the docks. It really did look like Underworld was waiting for something..

'He ain't kidding boss..' The chubby pink imp confirmed Hermes' words. '-it looks like half the neighbourhood is out there.' Hades blinked in surprised by this.

'What do you think they want?' Persephone sounded confused, still cradling Thanatos to her bust.

'Maybe they're waiting to hear about the baby.' Panic suggested and Hades made a noise of agreement while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

'Or maybe they want to _see_ the baby..' The fiery god responded to the imp's words with a crooked smirk.

'What?' Demeter sounded appalled before scowling. 'Oh don't be ridiculous Hades, the child has just been born-'

'Exactly..' The fiery god cut off his mother-in-law cheerfully. '-and the Underworldians obviously can't wait to meet him..'

'But he's not ready to go outside..' Demeter tried again to reason with her son-in-law but Hades either wasn't caring or feigning deafness to her words.

'Gimmie the kid Sephy..' Hades sounded keenly to his wife who had just winded the baby. '-I wanna get him ready to meet his public.' Persephone blinked at her husband for a brief moment then the young goddess held out Thanatos to his father who took him in one arm.

'Persephone..' Demeter frowned at her daughter. 'You can't let him do this!'

'Mom give it a rest..' The white-skinned goddess rolled her green eyes wearily. '-if I've learnt anything from being your daughter it's 'I can't control everything', I mean c'mon-' Persephone snorted. '-you tried to control Bacchus and he ended up a wild, obnoxious drunk. Then you tried to control me and I ended up marrying Hades. Face it, neither of us turned out like you wanted us to.' Persephone scowled at Demeter now, she could take the nagging on the surface but down here she was queen and she wasn't going to let her mother push her around.

'Ah-hah..' Hermes muttered nervously as he did not want to witness another legendry bust-up between these two stubborn nature deities.'-I'll just see myself out..' The Messenger God then vanished out the window in a blue blur, wishing to get out of there as fast as his little sandals could flap. The fiery god glanced around as the tiny blue god vanished before turning back as he was actually interested in seeing Demeter's response.

'Ooh, ouch..' Hades sounded winking an eye shut while smirking in amusement at his mother-in-law's flabbergasted look, clearly she wasn't used to being spoken to like this. '-that's gotta sting..'

Demeter then frowned at Persephone's words. It wasn't often she got back-chat from her daughter but when she did it never failed to shock her, and because Persephone knew what buttons to push it always got the desired reaction.

'Fine..' The Nature Goddess sighed irritably raising her hands in defeat. 'I can see I'm not needed here.' the green-skinned goddess then turned sharply on her heel and stalked off leaving both Hades and Persephone to stare after here in surprise. Thanatos only blinked sleepily, content with a full belly the little baby wasn't particularly caring about what was going on around him.

'Heh, nice..' Hades recovered first after Demeter had left them alone. '-way to get rid of the smother-in-law babe..' Persephone sighed heavily slapping a dainty white hand on her forehead with irritation.

'Uh, why does she always have to nit-pick?' The young goddess asked with a shake of her blonde hair.

'Pfft… you tell me Sephy she's your mother..' The fiery god sounded dismissively as his yellow eyes returned to the godling in his arms. The next second he snapped the fingers of his free hand and Thanatos' indigo swaddling cloth vanished and the little godling was dressed in a mini navy-blue long-sleeved tunic with a black dungaree style toga, held up by two miniature silver skull pins.

'Whadda ya think, huh? Aren't these threads just totally him?' Hades smirked holding Thanatos out to his wife who pulled away the hand that had been covering her face. Persephone blinked at her son who was now dressed in one of his father's old baby chitons.

'I think it's a little big for him..' She smirked slightly amused, the outsized sleeves covered Thanatos' little hands and the rest of the tunic practically hung off him.

'Ahh, he'll grow into it..' The fiery god sounded before turning his son around to face him. '-and what does my little Thanny think, huh? Do _you_ like it?' Hades pulled a tender expression speaking to his son in a soft baby voice which made Thanatos beamed widely. Persephone giggled at the adorable sight, pleased that her son and husband had such a close and instantaneous bond.

The three Sirens on the chessboard all wore the same gooey-eyed expression while cooing and batting their eyelashes like three harmonious inane cherubs at the cuteness of their big boss and his son. The imps, who were still perched on the window sill were looking at their boss as if they were seeing him for the first time.

'Uh, have you ever seen the boss go all gooey like that before?' Pain sounded to his green partner still gazing in shock at his boss.

'Once..' Panic replied, he too couldn't tear his eyes away from his boss. '-when he pulled a particularly fat worm out of a bowl before-' The skinny imp then shrugged dismissing the memory. '-but then he just ate it.'

'You don 't think he's gonna eat his kid, do ya?' Pain blinked, suddenly turning to Panic looking worried as there was a hungry edge to his smirk.

'Nah, I doubt even Hades has the stomach to pull a Cronos move..' The little green imp waved his hand making his chubby pink partner relax instantly.

Hades meanwhile had glanced at the two of them when the name 'Cronos' was uttered but the god was in too good a mood to care about the mention of this unhinged Titan right now. The fiery Lord of the Underworld returned his serpentine leer to his wife who was still resting on the chessboard in her now outsized maternity tunic.

'So honey what ya doin'.. you stayin', ya comin' over or what whadda ya think, hmm?' The god reeled off in one breathe as Thanatos flashed his mother an angelic smile while happy holding onto his daddy's chiton.

'I think I'll just stay here sweetie..' Persephone replied stifling a yawn, giving birth had really taken it out of her. '-I need to rest a bit anyway..' She sighed and settled herself more comfortably on the makeshift bed.

'Ok, you rest up sweet-cheeks.. me and the kid can greet the neighbours, sound good short flames?' Hades smirked at his son who only smiled back at his daddy's words. The fiery god took this as a positive gesture and he smirked widely at his child… he had a feeling this was the start of a beautiful relationship.

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Hey Everybody, wowie I can't believe I made triple digits! And to celebrate this momentous occasion and to thank everybody who has contributed I will reveal now that the next story will be entitled: _**The Importance of Thanatos**._ This story is kind of split into two parts… the first will focus on Hades and Persephone raising their child and following the little godling as he overcomes his first hurdles of life (lots of fluff and humour), then the second part of the story focuses on Thanatos as he becomes a part of the 'Family Business' which leads the son of Hades into an encounter with his cousin Hercules and sparking a new rivalry between the two.. (kinda dark but still funny). Still tweaking the plot a bit but definitely worth the extra planning!_

_Ok now most of you caught onto the major hint to the baby's identity in chap14 when Hades was mulling over baby names but I feel I need to explain my choice of deity. In myth Hades did indeed have a son but he was only celebrated as part of the Eleusians Mysteries (the many names of this child are all the names Hades dismissed when he was picking out baby names) and many believed that he was conceived when Persephone first went down to the Underworld with Hades (naughty, naughty). Many of the Greeks who were not initiated into the Mysteries believed the couple were childless like death itself (not true but hey, they had reps to keep) which is why a lot of sources on the internet also say they remained childless…_

…_but back to the baby._

_Thanatos, as the meaning of his name gives away, was the Greek God of Death… I can't go too into detail about this god without giving away some spoilers to my next story. However I can reveal that every source that I've come across describe Hades and his son as not only being alike but also sharing many names that describe them both, such as 'Polydegmon' which means 'Receiver of Many Guests' and 'Euboulos' meaning 'Good Councillor'… Also there are many sources that not only describe Thanatos and Hades as being alike but often they are confused with each other in myth and the two names above would also fit the God of Death himself, meaning that the baby in my fic is actually going to be a mash-up of myth (just like his red-headed cousin Hercules)._

_Ok a little note on Pain and Panic, anyone who's watched the episode 'Hercules and the Green-Eyed Monster will have probably noticed just how similar the Miseries from Pandora's box are to our two favourite imps. I'm making them relatives of them because let's face it… they probably are. Also my 'Who's your Favourite Imp' poll is now closed and the result… Almost everybody's favourite imp is Panic! Yay, he's my favourite too! XD_

_Stay tuned as there's only a couple of chaps left… and keep reviewing!_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	33. The Once in an Underworld Offer

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

* * *

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Chapter Thirty-Three:****The Once in an Underworld Offer**

Despite his mother-in-law's objections Hades actually had no intentions of making his newly-born child leave the throne room and he certainly was _not_ going to let the Underworldians inside.. but there was one way he could let the horde of underling spectators catch a glimpse of his little boy without subjecting the infant godling to that creepy bunch too soon.

'Holy Nyx..' Hades sounded, his long jaw dropping at what greeted him as he approached the large circular window facing the Styx. Carefully depositing his tiny son down onto the window ledge where the crowd couldn't see him Hades moved out of the shadows and into the dim Underworld light, making himself visible to the horde.

At the sight of their illustrious blue flame-haired leader the crowd in and by the Styx river cheered and clapped joyously, anxiously awaiting the news of their Queen and her new baby. The fiery god smirked widely drinking in the reaction, he would never get a greeting like this on Olympus. He couldn't believe that it had once been his desire to rule that cloudy wasteland, however if it had not been for the many schemes that Hades had concocted in his quest to rule the cosmos the many allies and underlings crowded here today wouldn't be here at all.

'Heya, how ya doin', thanks for comin' out..' The fiery god sounded in a jovial voice as he addressed his underlings. '-nice to see that so many of you care about our Queen.. Heh, she'd be real touched if she wasn't restin' right now..' Hades narrowed his eyes at the residents of his realm before continuing. 'Anyway, both mother and baby are fine and that's what matters, right?' He added with a perky smirk.

'Now who wants to meet the kid?' Hades declared in a booming voice which caused a rapturous response. Souls splashed excitedly in the waters, the nymphs and imps on the docks cheered and chanted gleefully while Charon merely leaned on his long black oar, slightly unimpressed by his fellows need to cause such a din but he too was curious about the baby so he didn't say anything.

'Wow..' Pain sounded as he gazed out at the crowds. '-I can't believe the fuss this kid is causing..'

'Ah, can you blame them?' Panic sounded happily. 'This is Hades' first kid! It's huge..'

'I know, and I never thought he'd have a kid..' Pain grinned widely.

'We should be down there celebrating with them..' Tele sounded fluttering above the boys with her sisters.

'Then why don't we?' Pain sounded cheerfully. 'The Boss-Lady's resting so Hades will probably appreciate us getting outta his flames for a while..'

'Plus if they need us they can always summon us back..' Raidne interjected and Molpe made an agreeable noise.

'Ok, let's go..' Panic sounded keenly hardly needing an excuse to get away from his fiery boss who was too busy right now to care what they did. The skinny green imp took a Siren hand in each of his as Pain did like-wise and the five of them vanished in shimmers of pink and green, reappearing by the river Styx amongst their fellows. The three nymph-girls instantly let go and made a bee-line for their friends Cyane and Styx waving politely to a few imps and Charon as they went. Pain and Panic meanwhile were instantly swept up by the resentment twins Envy and Jealousy who were having a hard time convincing their little sister Hope into coming out of Pandora's Box to celebrate the first-born brat of the Underworld rulers with the rest of the Misery clan.

The departure of his five minions didn't go unnoticed by the flame-haired head honcho of the Underworld, he spotted them the instant they materialized amongst their fellows but rather than be irritated by them sneaking off Hades merely smirked, they would probably want in on his big surprise when he revealed it.

'Alright, here he is..' Hades bellowed out cheerfully while securely gripping his new-born son around the middle. Thanatos, who'd been sucking his thumb sleepily on the window-sill, gave a squeak of surprise as his father lifted him up and pulled his tiny hand away from his mouth. Hades carried on regardless and turned his son around to face the horde. '-the kid you've all been _dyin_' to see..' Hades grinned sardonically then thrust Thanatos out the widow, still holding him securely as the infant god dangled out the House of Hades. '-my son Thanatos!'

The Underworld cheered again at the sight of the little baby hanging out the window of the throne room above them. Little Thanatos merely stared around stunned and slightly perturbed about the whole experience, his little golden eyes as wide as saucers as he took in the crowd of being on the banks of the big river below, in which the strange transparent things were diving in and out of the water like leaping salmon. After a few moments of shock the little deity decided he didn't like this new experience and began crying which caused his little golden flames to creep over his shoulders and slowly down his chest.

Reacting quickly to his son's discomfort Hades whipped the kid back inside the window and held the flaming little godling to him, automatically jiggling him in his arm. After a few moments Hades summoned a skull-shaped pacifier, identical to the one that he had once tried to offer to an infant Hercules.

'Here ya go kid, you just open up and..' The god uttered pushing the pacifier towards his snivelling son who accepted it without crushing his fingers. '-there we are..' The moment Thanatos began sucking on the pacifier he calmed down, his flames receding to normal as he leant into his daddy's chiton closing his round eyes content again.

Persephone, who had opened her eyes at her son's wailing, smiled sleepily as she witnessed her husband quickly and effectively calm their son down again. The goddess sighed contentedly to herself before closing her eyes again, pleased that Hades seemed to be a natural at fatherhood… she'd always known he would be.

Hades glanced in his wife's direction but noticed that she was still asleep, he grinned a huge twisted smirk in her direction… what his darling little wifeykins didn't know wouldn't hurt her.. The fiery god turned back around to the horde, this time keeping his son close to his chest and addressed them again.

'Alright, alright settle down people, ya haven't even heard the best part… and trust me, this is somethin' ya don't wanna miss.' Hades' eyes narrowed diabolically as the crowd silenced all eyes, dead and alive, were on him once more looking both shocked and curious as to what he might have up his sleeve. Hades leered hugely around his bunch of underlings, taking his time with this announcement as it was something he had never done, nor would he have considered doing before.

'Since this is such a momentous occasion..' He sounded smirking. '-I mean hey, how often do we get to celebrate a kid of mine bein' born in the Underworld, huh?' The fiery god glanced down at his son and sighed. 'Heh, I'm feelin' in a charitable mood people so I'm gonna make you an offer ya can't refuse..'

Charon blinked, as did the others and suddenly all eyes were on the five minions that lived inside the House of Hades. Both imps and Sirens blinked confused too and shrugged at their comrades showing clearly that they too had no clue what their boss was talking about.

Hades made his son vanish out of his arm in a swirl of black smoke and the baby reappeared cradled into his sleeping mother on the chessboard. The fiery god briefly smiled at the adorable sight of his wife and son snuggled up together before returning to his allies and minions.

'Ok, here's my offer..' The fiery god sounded in a low voice as he lent slightly out the large circular window addressing the crowd. '-for this night I'll make a loop in your contracts-' The minions on the docks began to utter to each other. Hades however carried on, only raising his voice slightly so he could be overheard by the muttering below. '-I'm not freeing you per-se but for this one night you are free, if ya catch my _drift.._' The fiery god's eyes narrowed diabolically. '-what you do I don't care, ya wanna go upstairs and give the mortals a bit of booga-booga-booga.. Fine, whatever, hey it's your night off _however-_' Hades bellowed the last word as the noise below was getting a bit over-excitable. The god grinned widely as everybody silenced again. '-like all my deals there is a catch..'

There was a faint groan in response to this, the minions should all have known there would be a hidden clause in this deal, there always was with the fiery god.

'This is just for one night-' Hades held out one digit. '-you all will be expected to resume your regular duties tomorrow so if ya kill anybody, ya'll here about it the next day.' The fiery god turned to the souls in the river still smirking widely at them as they too were looking curiously at him, as if wondering if this deal applied to them as well.

'This deal is also open to any of you souls who choose to accept it-' There was a flurry of activity as several dozen excitable souls flipped and somersaulted gleefully in the Styx waters. '-but there is another stipulation attached it.' The souls all looked curiously towards their grim leader, unsure what it was he wanted from them. '_If_ any of you managed to get reincarnated while you are out then you won't have to return when I haul back the others.' The souls blinked stunned, taking in his words before they began looking excited again when they realised he was serious.

'Now I have just one last thing to say..' The fiery god sounded lightly before adding sharply. '-why are you lot _still_ here?' Hades chuckled amused as there was a huge flurry of activity from the docks and waters of the Styx, as souls, imps and nymphs disappeared out of sight.

Once the movement in the Underworld had subsided Hades gave a peripheral glance around his silent realm. His eyes narrowed in amusement at the almost empty black waters of the Styx.

'Huh..' He sounded smirking in amusement… turned out it was the souls that gave the river it's prosperous glow. He watched the few dimly lit shades that remained meander quite happily through the calm waters. Persephone had once told him that souls could instigate their own reincarnation if the opportunity arose but reincarnation wasn't for every soul, just those who deserved it.

Hades then saw that not all his minions had left the Underworld, his brows contracted and frowned as Charon stretched out happily relaxing in his boat. The fiery god groaned and rolled his eyes as the skeletal boatman pulled out a newscroll and mulled over the sports section.

'Sheesh, what's with this guy..' Hades grumbled irritably. '-I give him a night off and all he wants to do is sit in the frickin' boat..' The god then shook his flaming-head and turned away. '-whatta weirdo..'

* * *

It was either deep in the night or very early morning when Persephone awoke to fidgeting and soft crying. The young goddess opened her eyes to find her son snuggled into her side, fussy and obviously hungry again. She smiled sweetly at her little one and obliged, shifting her white maternity chiton so that Thanatos could suckle, holding him loosely and closing her eyes smiling at the slightly strange sensation of him feeding from her. It was then that Persephone became aware of a solid mass behind her, she then heard of soft snoring and felt warm breath on the back of her neck and quickly realised that her husband was laying asleep there.

When Thanatos had taken his fill Persephone covered herself back up then picked up her son and rolled over with him so he was now sat between his parents. The young goddess picked up the skull-shaped pacifier and studied it curiously, she couldn't remember seeing it amongst the baby things in the nursery before. She then shrugged dismissively, her husband had obviously made it for the baby so she wasn't going to argue. Persephone offered it to Thanatos who instantly latched onto it keenly. Satisfied that her son was now content again the white-skinned goddess turned her green eyes onto her husband who was still sleeping peacefully on the chessboard. She smiled at him as he always looked adorable when he slept, noticing that he was still dressed in his work chiton. He'd obviously just chosen to crash with his wife and son on the chessboard rather than wake them both up so they could all go to bed. Persephone then swept forward and kissed Hades' cheek before stretching and yawning to get rid of the stiffness in her arms. Then feeling the need to stretch her legs the young goddess swung her bare feet over the edge of the chessboard so she was now in a sitting position.

Smiling at her son who was now cuddled into his daddy's stomach Persephone held out both hands and couldn't stop her smile from widening a swirl of bright white orbs appeared. Out of it materialised Mr Skelton, the skeleton teddy she had summoned from the nursery and she tucked him in next to her son. It seemed her powers were completely back to normal now.

The goddess then pulled herself off of the chessboard finding the whole sensation of standing weird, she no longer had a huge ball-sized bump to balance and the white tunic she was wearing slipped down one shoulder. Persephone felt her stomach curiously. She felt a little squishy in the tummy now but she would worry about the excess baby weight later.

At this point there was a slight grunt from behind and the goddess swivelled her blonde head around and smiled as Hades slowly came round, peering at her through sleepy heavy-lidded eyes. He grunted and pulled himself up, stretching out as he sat up. Thanatos didn't seem to notice his father move as the little godling clutched Mr Skelton, a content little smile curving his lips.

'Mornin' toots..' He yawned before summoning a mug of coffee with a large black 'H' on the side out of a curl of smoke. As the bleary-eyed god took a swig of his hot drink Persephone moved around the chessboard and perched herself directly behind her husband, her slim arms slipped around him easily as she rested her hands on his chest.

'Morning sweetie..' She responded kissing his cheek and causing a leer to spread across his full blue lips. Persephone closed her eyes and lent her head against his shoulder blade.

'It's so quiet this morning..' She murmured as everything seemed a little too peaceful for a realm that was usually jumping with souls.

'Hmm..' Hades made a noise of agreement. '-probably because there's nobody here..' He sounded amiably before taking another swig of coffee.

'What?' Persephone sounded, lifting her head up convinced she had misheard him.

'Yup..' Hades responded calmly to her surprise. '-I sent 'em away for the night..'

'Um, may I ask why?' Persephone blinked stunned, this was the last thing she'd ever expect her tight-fisted husband to do.

'So we could spend a little time alone with the kid..' Hades shrugged. '-y'know, with no work or minions to distract us.'

'Oh..' Persephone sounded slightly touched by this before realising what 'work' meant. 'Wait? You sent the souls away too?' She blinked again as her bright green eyes turned to her husband. 'To where?' Hades flashed his wife a grin at this point.

'To the surface..' He smirked. '-where else?'

'The surface..' Persephone repeated with a gasp of shock.

'Baby re-lax it's only for one night, ok?' Hades paused before checking the time on the shadow-dial. 'Well actually it's more like four hours until I recall them all so let's just enjoy what time we got left huh, whadda ya say..'

'Well..' Persephone rolled her eyes upwards thoughtful before relenting. '-ok, since it's just for one night..' She smiled girlishly at her husband before lowering her head onto his shoulder again.

'Hey, ya fancy some breakfast babe?' Hades sounded smirking slightly at her.

'That depends on if you have to go and make it or not..' Persephone sounded playfully making Hades laugh weakly at her words.

'Heh, how does toast and pomegranate sound then?' He replied airily summoning two slices of toast out of smoke and placing them on his ears before plucking a pomegranate out of nowhere. The young goddess tried not to smirk amused at her husband, she'd never taken him seriously when he had toast burning in his flaming hair.

'Quit snickering Sephy..' Hades rolled his eyes as his wife let out a small titter when he turned the toast.

'Sorry..' Persephone sounded trying very hard to repress her laughter. '-can't help it..'

'Then here..' Hades sounded lightly handing her two quarters of the pomegranate. '-eat this.' The fiery god then shook his head and lifted one of his own quarters and took a large bite out of the deep red fruit. Persephone blinked in surprise at this.

'What?' Hades sounded as the two pieces of toast popped off his head and the god quickly buttered them before handing his wife a slice.

'You never choose to eat fruit..' She laughed freely this time, taking a bite out of her toast still smiling as she chewed.

'Heh, not usually no..' Hades sounded lightly. '-but I just had a hankerin' for them.' Persephone beamed widely as she bit into her slice of pomegranate.

'Now aren't you glad you went on the 'Pomegranate Diet'..' She sounded amused finishing off her breakfast with a smug girly smirk.

'Hmm..' Hades snorted as he finished his last quarter of pomegranate. '-don't push it Sephy.' His golden eyes turned onto his little baby boy who was still sleeping soundly on the chessboard beside them. His smile softened as he watched Thanatos' grip tighten around Mr Skelton as he nuzzled the fire-proof teddy.

'Hey..' Hades blinked then turned to his wife who was running her fingers over his shoulders. '-what were you gonna call the kid if he was a girl?' Persephone smirked at his question as it had been something she'd been having trouble with until her mother-in-law Nyx had found the perfect name.

'Melinoe..' The young goddess replied airily making her husband smirk slightly.

''Dark Mind'..' Hades sounded as he mused over the meaning of the name.

'Heh, yeh..' Persephone tilted her head studying their son as he slept. '-but you gotta admit the name would have suited her.'

'Hmm..' Hades made a noise of agreement. '-tell ya what babe, if we ever have a girl you can name her that..' The god sounded matter-of-factly causing Persephone to smirk.

'Err, thank you sweetie..' The young goddess patted her husband gently. '-but uh, let's just see how we get on with Thanatos before we plan on having anymore kids, ok?'

'Yeh, good call babe.' Hades chuckled at his wife's words, leaning forward and ruffling his son's golden flames as the infant slept soundly. 'He might grow up to be a right pain in the neck..'

'He's more likely to be a pain in Zeus' neck..' Persephone replied honestly and Hades' smirk widened considerably at this.

'We can only hope Sephykins..' The fiery god sighed wrapping an arm around his wife's waist and pulling her close as they both watched over their sleeping child. '-we can only hope..'

_

* * *

_

Little Notes:

_Heya Peeps, I'm quite sad that this story is finishing now as it's only the epilogue left to write (which will be setting the scene for T.I.O.T). I know there are a few less chapters in this one than P.o.P but in truth D.H.L's word count is much higher than my first story so it's actually longer._

_Ok, the very special deal that Hades cuts his minions and souls in this chapter is actually mythologically true (for the souls anyway). On All Souls Night souls returned to the surface world where they would hide in beans hoping that some rich girl will eat it, if she did this soul would become her baby. I couldn't really see Hades letting his souls go without a good reason to so this seemed the easiest way of explaining it, plus now you know what day little Thanatos was born on XP_

_Stay tuned… and don't forget the review peeps._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	34. Epilouge

_Ok peeps, same deal different story… I don't own Disney's Hercules (unfortunately) and the original 'Havoc' and 'Mayhem' belong to Quantum Witch and I am merely borrowing the names for this fic although the characters of Hecate's minions are completely my own along with Persephone and any other original characters and places that pop-up…_

_This story takes things from both the film and the series while it also contains some carrying themes from it's forerunner; Plight of Persephone… Little hint: if you haven't read it (or the short story G.W.I) then you might get confused later on.._

_And a little reminder… Disney twisted a lot of myths for their storylines so I have to do some minor tweaking of my own to make this work… so far, it's working and I'm delighted to bring you the sequel to P.o.P…_

* * *

**Daddy's Little Hellraiser**

**Epilogue:****And so… It Begins Again…**

…_one month later…_

'_Ahh_..' Panic yelped in agony as a pair of little white hands suddenly gripped his long horned-ears. '_Someone get this baby off me!_' The green skinny imp cried out frantically, wriggling terrified as Thanatos lifted him up easily squealing out happily. The imps were supposed to be getting the baby ready for his own Birth Celebration but Thanatos clearly had other ideas.

'Ah.. ow.. _ow_..' The chubby pink imp winced painfully as the fiery little godling began to pound against his head excitably with his feet. Thanatos gave out another joyful squeak and pulled on Panic's ears causing the imp's eyes to water in anguish. The next second Persephone came through the door pinning a set of skull-shaped studs into her earlobes, she had heard the distressed calls of the two imps from her own bedroom suite across the hallway.

'Oh Thanatos..' Persephone giggled amused, gently prying a tense Panic free from her son's grip. '-has your daddy been letting you torture the imps again?'

Both imps quickly darted out of the nursery while their little boss was distracted by his mother. Thanatos only gave a squeal and wriggled his arms, a smile curving his mouth as Persephone stretched out and picked up her son. The white-skinned goddess smiled and pinned Thanatos' dungaree chiton closed, impressed that Pain and Panic had managed to get him part-way dressed before the fiery godling had decided to he'd much rather 'play' with the imps than let them dress him.

'Hmm.. I'll have to speak to daddy about that, won't I?' Persephone sounded lightly picking up Thanatos' pacifier and placing it in her son's mouth before the two of them vanished in a swirl of white orbs.

* * *

Hades had been welcoming the guests in the Grove of Lethe where the Birth Celebration was being held as the throne room was too small for the gathering of gods and beings that were invited to this party. The fiery god couldn't help but smirk widely while he looked around the guests of Thanatos' Birth Celebration as he waited for his wife and son to appear. Amongst the many mixed faces of the crowd Hades spotted his own parents Erebus and Nyx happily chatting with Demeter, clearly getting their goodbyes in as the Goddess of Nature was returning to Olympus after the party. Nemesis and Athena had got talking over some of Bacchus' lightly mulled nectar, which he'd made especially for the occasion while the pink-skinned god was laughing with Cupid and Psyche. Hestia and Hera were sat on one of the long stone garden benches admiring the eerie beauty of the grove and congratulating Amphitrite who was now pregnant. The teal-skinned goddess was occasionally glancing at her husband who was talking to all three Sirens. Poseidon was trying to see if they were interested in sinking a few ships that had been irritating him..

'Ares, ma man..' The fiery god sounded airily suddenly spotting the God of War as he passed him. '-still dreamin' of world peace?'

'_What?_' The red-skinned god swivelled around and balled his fists offended by this very suggestion.

'Heh, just jokin' buddy..' The fiery god sounded amused winking at Ares before turning around to find Hermes fluttering beside him grinning widely.

'Fabulous party Hades I haven't seen this much love by the Pool of Lethe since-' The tiny blue god was cut off instantly by Hades who had widened his eyes in alarm at these words knowing exactly where Hermes was going.

'Ah-hah, people don't need to here about that..' The fiery god sounded looking slightly embarrassed then flared angrily. '-in fact I don't _want_ people to know about it, capeesh?'

'Ok, ok..' The tiny blue god sounded nervously backing away from Hades. '-take it easy..'

'Not bullying Hermes again are we?' An amused girly voice came from directly behind the fiery god making him instantly extinguish his orange flames and swivel around with what he hoped was a suave leer.

'What, _nahh.._ it's just banter..' Hades paused, his eyes widened at the sight of his beautiful wife who had somehow managed to squeeze herself back into her pre-pregnancy strapless black chiton. The god's eyes narrowed and he lent into Persephone with a hungry smirk. 'Sephy, aye-chi-wa-wa _baabe.. _you look _hot _and hey, as guy with flames I should know right?' Hades' blue flames rippled across his shoulders as the god made a low throaty purring noise.

'Stop it..' Persephone blushed slightly giggling girlishly as one muscled greyish-blue arm wound it's way around her child-bearing hips, pulling her into him and kissing her fiercely before she could protest further.

'_Whoa_..' Hermes swept in and removed Thanatos from in between his parents. '-no self-respecting baby has to be wedged beneath a smooch.' He sounded as Thanatos gazed at the slim blue god who had held of him now, finding his golden cadelus particularly interesting. Hermes only smirked amused when little Thanatos took hold of it and shook it like a rattle, looking confused when the cadelus wouldn't make a noise.

'Hey, hey there's my little Tartarus-raiser..' The fiery god sounded cheerfully taking Thanatos under the armpits and lifting him up and the fiery little godling's wide yellow eyes turned from the cadelus to his daddy, flashing him a gummy smile. '-all kitted out in his Underworld best..'

'Yeh..' Persephone sounded while flashing a smile at her son. '-I found him playing 'hurt the imps' again..' Hades only chuckled amused by this as he clutched Thanatos close to him.

'Already showin' the minions who's boss, eh? I like your style..' The fiery god smirked at his son before his eyes rolled towards his wife. 'What can I say, he's a chip off the ol' brimstone..' He watched his son for a moment as Thanatos was still fruitlessly trying to make the cadelus rattle before he gently pried the golden staff out of his son's fingers and returned it to it's owner.

'I know sweetie but can you lay off the minion torture just a smidge, I want him to respect our underlings too..' Hades blinked before shrugging carelessly at her words.

'Eh, I'll think about it..'

* * *

Little Thanatos seemed to take the attention from the other beings around him pretty well, there had been no repeat of the miniature inferno from the day of his birth. In fact apart from the flames, Thanatos had failed to display any of the powers Persephone had experienced during her pregnancy, it seemed strange to think that the force that had defeated Hecate only six weeks previously were all contained in this one innocent-looking little god. Neither Underworld ruler was too worried about it, he'd grow into his abilities soon enough and at least this way they had time to prepare for them now they knew what to expect.

'Oh how cute is he..' Aphrodite cooed clutching her hands together at her bosom when she and her family came over to see the baby. '-Eris come over here and say hi to your new friend.' The pink-skinned goddess turned to her red-skinned daughter who scowled, still clutching Hephaestus' arm.

'No..' Eris sounded petulantly, once she had begun talking the little goddess had become very vocal indeed.

'Go on Eris..' Hephaestus sounded kindly, pushing her slightly towards her mother who was beckoning her with an encouraging smile.

'_No.._' The little goddess whined stamping her foot moodily and crossing her arms. Persephone and Hades raised their brows at the huffy little daughter of Aphrodite but chose not to say anything, both silently hoping that Thanatos was not going to be this stubborn.

'Why not..?' Aphrodite asked Eris and her little maroon lips pouted sulkily.

'Don't _want_ to..' She sounded twisting uncomfortably on the spot.

'Eris don't be so antisocial..' Aphrodite scolded her daughter as Hephaestus caught the looks on the Underworld rulers faces.

'Err.. sorry about this Hades..' The Blacksmith God sounded apologetically. '-she's approaching the terrible two's.'

'Come here..' Aphrodite scowled now, loosing patience with her child. Eris twisted again as if in two minds about disobeying her mother but then she stopped over to Aphrodite's side still looking put out.

'Look at the baby..' Aphrodite instantly softened then gestured to Thanatos who was now settled in his black metal crib which Hades had summoned down from the nursery for the party. The golden-flamed infant blinked through his wide eyes at Eris who only looked uninterested.

'I saw him..' She sounded instantly turning to her mother again. '-can I go?'

'Not yet sweetheart..' Aphrodite replied before straightening and turning to Persephone with a withering sigh, she was growing tired of always arguing with her daughter.

'_Why not.._' Eris whined petulantly, looking about two seconds away from a tantrum.

'Because I want to talk to Persephone..' Aphrodite replied trying to suppress her annoyance then turned to the Queen of the Underworld. 'Y'know we should arrange a playdate for these two at some point, there's no other kids on Olympus for Eris to interact with and as you can see-' The Goddess of Love gestured to her daughter who was glaring at them both. '-she's a little unsociable..' Persephone smiled slightly.

'It's not a bad idea..' She mused thoughtfully as she mulled it over. '-and it would be good for Than to have a little playmate, other than the imps and Sirens I mean..'

'Mommy I'm bored..' Eris whined at this point but found herself ignored by the two goddesses. Thanatos was merely clutching Mr Skelton while gazing at Eris, having never met another godling before he was fascinated by her.

'Great..' Aphrodite sounded keenly. '-we can arrange details-'

'_Mommy!_' Eris screamed cutting out Aphrodite's words and causing little Thanatos to look startled by her loud outburst.

'Eris don't scream at you mother like that..' Hephaestus sounded in a low disapproving tone.

'But I wanna _gohhhh_..' The little red-skinned goddess let out a long petulant whine making the tiny golden-flamed infant sitting next to her in his crib to look concerned at her. The next second Thanatos' pacifier vanished in a curl of black smoke, reappearing in Eris' mouth. The red-skinned toddler's blue eyes widened in shock at this.

'_Ewwww!_' Eris squealed spitting out the pacifier, she then rounded onto her father and pointed an accusing finger at the baby next to her. 'He done that on pur-pus!' She sounded huffily. Thanatos whimpered at the tone of her voice, clearly not understanding what her problem was.

'Oh for the love of Erebus..' Hades muttered lifting his son out of the crib and trying to calm the now wailing and flaming godling again. Persephone blinked as Eris was now throwing a bawling tantrum and Thanatos was obviously upset by it.

'Maybe we should sort this out when the kids have both calmed down..' The Queen of the Underworld sighed heavily.

'Good idea..' Hephaestus replied taking a hold of his upset daughter and leading both her and Aphrodite away.

* * *

It took a little while to calm Thanatos down after that but he eventually relaxed then fell asleep.

'Lamia, baabe… long time no see..' Hades schmoozed kissing the pale green hand of a slim Underworldian woman as she approached the crib. Pain and Panic gawped in amazement recognising her instantly.

'Mom..' Pain sounded in shocked. Lamia the Mother of all Miseries was a light teal colour and slim like Panic, she had a neat little pointed nose and a soft oval face with shoulder-length dark bluish-green hair. Lamia was disliked by most of the Olympian gods, especially by Hera as the Mother of all Miseries was infamous for stealing wayward children away from the surface. In fact the Olympians still believed she was responsible for Hercules going missing when he was a baby. It would have been a neat revenge against Hera for transforming Lamia into her current form, the result of an untrue rumour in which she had been sleeping with Zeus, however when the Mother of all Miseries had discovered the truth about two of her sons kidnapping and botching Hercules' murder she was all to happy to play along… besides as long as she was in the Underworld she was under Hades' protection.

'What are you doing here?' Panic added staring at her stunned. Lamia smiled at her children and pulled out a small scroll.

'Your boss invited me to see his new baby..' She sounded before her neat yellow eyes turned around to the baby. '-and I managed to convince your sister Hope to come out of thebox and see him too..' Behind Lamia a miniscule pale pink imp with child-like big blue eyes poked her tiny head out and waved with a brief smile to her big brothers before leaning into the baby who blinked at the miniature imp-spawn. Lamia turned back to Hades smiling.

'Y'know they didn't even tell me you two were expecting..' She sounded conversationally.

'Really..' Hades sounded amused. '-that's terrible, imagine keeping information like that from their own mother..' He made a tutting noise.

'Oh, it's alright.. I know you like to keep them busy..' Lamia sounded vaguely before turning her attention to the little godling in the crib. 'Oh isn't he just darling..' She cooed as Hope nodded and beamed at her mother.

'Heh, heh now Lamia…'Hades sounded good-naturedly, remembering her reputation as a baby-snatcher. '-this is one kid I _won't_ letcha run off with..' The Mother of all Miseries chuckled amused by his words.

'Fear not Hades..' She sounded lightly. '-I wouldn't dream of seizing your son..'

Well that's good to know babe..' The Lord of the Underworld laughed weakly in response. As Lamia turned away from the crib Pain and Panic both instantly linked arms with their mother, who they rarely got the chance to visit, and began jabbering away at the same time. Lamia merely nodded her head in response but seemed to follow their joint speech perfectly well as she was used to having duel conversations with her numerous imp-children. The pale-pink-skinned Hope scurried along with them, she too seemed to follow her two brothers as they spoke.

* * *

Despite everything Thanatos' Birth Celebration seemed to be going smoothly and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves… everyone except one figure who had been hanging back and observing the party as though this was the last place he would ever wish to be.

Zeus frowned from his spot under one of the far away willow trees. He'd been watching this sorry excuse of a party ever since his wife had forced him to come down to. His little brother clearly had no idea how to organize a Birth Celebration. Every god in the generation before Thanatos had been celebrated on Olympus and had strictly been a 'deity-only' affair. But Hades had decided to break this tradition as not only was it in the Underworld but there were minions running loose all over the place..

'Good Gaia what is the cosmos coming to..' The white-haired god groaned shaking his head before Hera appeared at his side smiling. '-why did you drag me here, Hades' party's are always so torturous..' He grumbled irritably.

'Now Zeus, he's your brother..' Hera sounded softly. '-and besides you haven't even gone up to meet your nephew yet..'

'I don't want to meet him-' Zeus sounded petulantly. '-you can't make me.' Hera arched an eyebrow at her husband's words. She could understand why her husband was annoyed with Hades, even after seven years the sting of betrayal was still there but to hold a grudge against his one month old nephew who he hadn't even met was ridiculous.

'_Dear_..' She sounded firmly. '-I know this is difficult..' She paused frowning briefly as she caught sight of Lamia with her imp-children, Hera then shook her blond head and turned back to her husband. '-but we are not leaving here until you go and see your nephew!'

'_Fiine_..' Zeus griped looking as if he were a put-upon martyr. '-I'll go see him but then we're leaving..' The tanned god stroked his beard thoughtfully for a moment before grinning. '-I'll just tell Hades I have some divine intervention scheduled, heh, that always works..'

Hera merely shook her head with faint amusement as her husband stepped out of the shadows of the willow tree and made a bee-line for Persephone and Hades.

'Zeusy..' Hades sounded in a falsely cheery voice as the tanned god appeared before him and the crib. '-how's things on the big cloud, huh? Been smitin' anybody interestin'?' In truth the fiery god had no interest in what was happening on Olympus, this was just mindless banter as a means to fake an interest.

'Uh, no..' Zeus responded with a smile at his little brother. '-I'm afraid I haven't been smiting anybody lately.

'_What?_' Hades responded in surprise then smirked. 'You ain't goin' soft and holdin' out on me are ya?' An eyebrow kinked as a slightly taunting smirk twisted across his lips.

'_Nonsense.. _just been busy that's all, now where is my nephew I have a divine intervention scheduled for four and I need to get moving..' The white-haired god then moved passed Hades and up to the baby's black twisted crib. Hades merely smirked wider in amusement.

'In other words he wants outta here as soon as possible..' The fiery god muttered in his wife's ear.

'Well good riddance then..' Persephone uttered in response with a deadpan look at the Lord of Olympus' back.

'Touché my sweet..' Hades' eyes narrowed and he straightened.

'Ah, here he is..' Zeus sounded as his sky blue eyes came to rest on his newest nephew and he gave a rolling chuckle. Thanatos blinked up at his uncle with large round golden eyes, clearly he had no idea what to make of this huge and powerfully built god. Zeus then turned to Hades and Persephone who were watching him.

'Heh, he's a little scrawny don'tcha think..' The tanned god said offhandedly turning back and missing the offended looks on both parent's faces, Persephone was quick to respond to her husband's orange flare by placing a hand on his chest to stop him from retaliating. Thanatos too seemed affronted as his little lips curled into a miniscule put-out pout. Zeus blinked at the child as for a second he had a horrible feeling that the godling was omniscient, he instantly shook off this ridiculous notion putting it down to coincidence. He instantly swept little Thanatos up from his crib and held him up for inspection. The tiny godling didn't look very impressed about this either and his little flames flickered irritably at the strange god holding him.

'Well, he's not the cutest kid in the cosmos..' Zeus pondered to himself before laughing amused and adding in a slightly louder voice. 'Hah, I guess that proves he's yours, eh Hades?' Zeus laughed amused by his own comment didn't even notice that Hades was throwing him a murderous gaze, his orange flames flaring nastily.

However Thanatos noticed Hades' flames and his little head instantly swivelled around to his uncle and he too scowled and flared up irritated, mimicking his daddy. Zeus couldn't fail to notice this little flare up as in a brief second of flaring the tiny godling's skin and eyes had burnt away leaving a flaming mini-skeleton in his hands.

'Erugh..' Zeus sounded in a mixture of disgust and surprise, instantly dropping Thanatos back into his crib where the little baby extinguished in a curl of smoke, reappearing with his skin, eyes and fiery hair back to normal, giving a little laugh of amusement and wriggling in excitement. Zeus glanced around but everybody else seemed to have missed the baby's abnormal manifestation. The next second Hades clapped Zeus on the back, clearly delighted by the reaction his son had caused the Lord of Olympus.

'Awww, what's the matter Zeusy.. is little Thanny to hot for you to handle..' He sounded in a mocking tone. Persephone giggled amused by her husband's words then bent over and lifted her son, hugging him close to her.

Zeus frowned at his brother but he was too concerned about Thanatos' unusual abilities to care about responding to him.

'I really must go..' Zeus spoke shortly. '-I still have that divine intervention to see to..' He turned away and stalked off stage.

'Hey Bolt Boy..' Hades called, unable to resist a dig. '-if ya can't stand the heat, ya better stay away from Tartarus..' The Underworld beings all cracked up laughing at their ruler's jeer but Zeus ignored them, he even bypassed Hera who blinked confused by her husband.

'What's the matter..' The lilac-skinned goddess sounded bemused as she struggled to keep up with her husband's fast pace.

'Go home with Hestia, I need to speak to the Fates..' Zeus responded abruptly to her words.

'_The Fates.._' Hera repeated in shock. '-about what?'

'About _that _kid..' The tanned god sounded harshly, jabbing a finger towards his little nephew who was cradled in his mother's arms. '-there's something not right about him.' He then stalked off moodily.

Hera could only sigh heavily as she watched her husband disappear into the darkness.

This was going to go badly..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Heya Peeps, I hope everybody enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm sad it's over but I hope the little cliff-hanger at the end keeps you interested for the next story. XP_

_In myth Lamia was a Libyan goddess who Zeus became enamoured with, when Hera discovered it she cursed every one of Lamia's children to death and the goddess became twisted by her own grief, enviously stealing children to devour, she was supposed to be a lustful creature that could change shape at will and was able to remove her eyes from her sockets so she could watch over herself as she slept… sounds like the perfect mother for Pain and Panic, eh?_

_Lamia looks similar to the model that Pain morphs into in Hercules and the Big Lie._

_In Pandora's box when all the Miseries were released there was only Hope left inside, I made her a shy infant girl imp and the only sister of Pain, Panic and the Miseries._

_Hope to see some of you when chapter one of The Importance of Thanatos when it's posted…_

_Until then, take very good care… and don't forget to review!_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


End file.
